Cause & Effect
by Thoughts in Chaos
Summary: After a brief meeting with Stu Bennett's girlfriend, Shane McMahon uses him to convince her to join the WWE as the newest Diva. What he doesn't know is that Shane's intentions are more sinister than he's led to believe. Barrett/OC. Challenge fic for Harmony1111
1. Chapter 1

_Wooooo, my first ever challenge fic! Thanks go out to BearKat for approaching me with the idea, made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that someone thought I was a good enough a writer to bring their idea to life!_

_Slightly AU; playing with the rosters and giving Wade a few more title accomplishments under the proverbial belt -so the story is set maybe a year or two from now- Mostly based in reality, but will have the slightest smattering of kayfabe mixed in with it._

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><p><em>Stu Bennett slouched in his chair and stared blankly into the reflective glass of the cramped interview room; the fluorescent light above him hummed constantly and occasionally flickered, it was either on it's last legs or the cops had tweaked it a bit as some sort of interrogation tactic. Either way he didn't care, the former bare knuckle boxer wasn't remorseful at all for what he had done and would quite happily do it again. His fists clenched instinctively as Stu's anger flared, his bruised knuckles turning white. He would have done a lot more than what he had done to, if Cody, Phil and Santino hadn't dragged him away...<em>

_His eyes shifted to the door as two detectives walked in, the younger of leaning against the wall while his senior partner took the chair opposite the pro wrestler placing a file on the table between them. "Stu Bennett." He began, "Or should I call you Wade Barrett?" Stu simply shrugged apathetically. The guy probably could've called him Tinky Winky, King of the Telletubbies and he wouldn't have cared, his thoughts were preoccupied. "Two time tag team champion, former Intercontinental champion, former United States champion and current WWE champion-"_

"_I'm aware of my career accomplishments." The Manchester native interrupted rudely, "What does it have to do with anything?"_

"_I'm just trying to piece together what would make a guy who has had such a good run in a company turn around and beat the ever loving hell out of his boss."_

"_Are you kidding me?" He said slowly, the look on his face a mix between anger and disbelief. "You're fucking with me, right?" Suddenly he shot up from his seat, the chair clattering noisily to the floor and slammed his fists against the table. The younger cop straightened up but his partner waved him back. Seething, his eyes bored into the detective. "The prick deserved everything I gave him, and then some!"_

_The veteran police officer calmly returned the younger man's gaze, before signalling him to sit back down. Both of them were aware of Bennett's previous issues with cops, earning himself a charge of assaulting an officer. Though in this case, he could understand his anger, but understanding or not the law was clear. Bennett had to answer for what he had done. He had not only whooped his boss' ass, he had beaten him so badly the man had to be sent to the emergency room. "I want you to sit down, and **calm **down... then tell me everything that lead up to the point where you took it upon yourself to assault one... Shane McMahon." The detective said, reading the name off one of his notes._

_His anger gave way to sorrow and guilt as self blame renewed itself. It was his fault it had happened, if he hadn't been so damn insistent... Stu sighed heavily as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "I don't even know where to start."_

"_Where every story starts. The beginning." The cop replied. "Doesn't matter how far back you have to go, I want to hear everything."_

_He looked at the two officers and sighed, "Then I guess it all started at the Gasparilla Pirate festival last January, back home in Tampa.."_

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><p>Stu couldn't quite keep the smile of his face, The Royal Rumble was arriving in Tampa that Sunday and he was scheduled to have a very rare day off the day before it got there. He and a few others had arrived in town early that morning; the Gasparilla Pirate festival was going to start around eleven and some of them had wanted to check it out, then hit down town in the evening for the festivities. But that was all still hours away and thanks to the red eye flight they had arrived a little past five am. The boys should have gotten to their hotel by now but Stu was lucky, he got to spend the next couple of nights sleeping in his own bed. When the taxi pulled up he handed over the fare plus a generous tip, stemmed from how good he was feeling and hauled his luggage out of the trunk. It trundled behind him as he reached the front door, took out his keys and let himself in. He looked around the front room and sighed contentedly; it was great to be home. Walking down the hall he got to the bedroom, leaning against the door frame he took in the sight that greeted him. There, right in the middle of the king sized bed sprawled out almost like a star fish and twisted up in the covers, was the woman who possessed the key to his heart.<p>

Imogen Campbell.

Long dark brown hair spilled over the pillow, a hand resting next to her face as the other had a light grip on the duvet. One long, smooth leg poked out from under the covers, slightly bent at the knee so her calf was lying on top of it. She sighed softly in her sleep then abruptly turned over, leaving her back exposed to him. _Naughty girl_. His eyes darkened as he smirked; the only thing she was wearing was an old shirt of his that had ridden up past her hips, then heard as she softly called his name in a breathless moan. Leaving his bags out in the hall he quietly took off his shoes then slowly crept in bed beside her, careful not to wake the sleeping woman up. Lightly his fingers caressed the exposed skin of her toned thigh, coming to rest on her hip. Brushing her hair to one side revealed her neck to him and he inhaled the faint lingering scent of the body wash she used before his lips found the nape of her neck.

Imogen hadn't seen Stu in over two months and missed him dearly, it was inevitable that she began dreaming about him eventually. She always did. While it paled in comparison to the real thing, it was a guilty pleasure she both thanked and cursed her mind for when they turned erotic. Her dreams, regardless of what they were, were always vivid; though this one felt even more realistic than normal. His large hand was running up her leg, sliding from her hip to give her pert ass a squeeze. A soft warm sensation started attacking her neck as her senses were filled with the smell of Stu's cologne, she started to squirm and her pulse began to race. Suddenly an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her backward, finally waking her up with a surprised yelp.

"Good morning." He murmured and she could feel his smile against her neck. "Miss me?" She wriggled in his grasp so she could turn around to face him, placing a hand on Stu's shoulder and pushed him back onto the bed while crawling on top. Her fingers curled in his short hair as she kissed him furiously, "I'm going... to... take that... as... a... yes." He managed to get out through her loving assault.

"Mhm." When she finally stopped her blue eyes locked with his green, "Although what you just pulled was very creeperesque."

"Sorry, couldn't help it." Stu chuckled, "Especially when you rolled over and flashed that ass of yours at me." His hands roamed down her back before giving said butt a playful slap, causing her gasp sharply at his teasing. Enveloping her in his arms he kissed her forehead as she rested her chin on his chest. "Definitely good to be home."

Imogen's finger drew careless circles on tattooed arm, "I wish you had told me though."

"Why is that?"

"I'm doing an exhibition match tonight as part of the festival. It's all pirate themed, we even got a mat canvas done up like the Jolly Roger. If I'd have known you were coming home I would've knocked it back."

Imogen, like Stu, was a professional wrestler. In fact when he first moved to Tampa and met the woman it was her who eventually suggested he give it a try and had even helped him with his training in the beginning. While he had obviously gone onto bigger things, she was happy competing on the independent circuit and played many roles other than that of the competitor. Ring crew, backstage management, occasional talent scout... anything that needed to be done to improve the show she was one of the first to put her hand up to help out.

He had asked her many times why she hadn't gone to try out for the WWE and her answer was always the same. While the thought of competing there was enticing, she would no doubt eventually either get bored from the lack of talented competition or snap under such a heavy travel schedule. The indies, she reasoned, was a perfect place for her; she got to do what she loved, and because of her skill and dedication was paid well enough to live off and it granted her a measure of anonymity, something Stu didn't have any more. It's not like he could argue with the logic, she was even the current SHIMMER champion and had been for the better part of six months. In all honesty though, the thought of going in front of that many people frightened her on some level, not that she would ever admit to such a thing to him.

"And miss out on seeing 'Callisto' compete in a pirate costume? Not a chance, love." She had sat up and he cocked an inquisitive brow at her when she started tugging on his shirt and undoing the buttons, his cocky smirk returning. "Feeling a little frisky, are we?"

She gave him a smug smirk of her own as he sucked in a breath as her nails raked down his chest and abs before undoing his belt. "You interrupted a very good dream, Mr Bennett. Now you have to make it up to me."

"Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets." He twisted his hips, reversing their position and showed Imogen that he had missed her just as much as she missed him...

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><p>"I'll get it!" Imogen called out as she walked toward the front door at the sound of the chiming doorbell. "Tony!"<p>

Anthony Carelli, screen name Santino Marella, swung the woman around as they hugged before putting her down. "Looking radiant as always, Imi." Imogen adored the Italian superstar, he was like the older brother she had always wished for and could break her down into a laughing fit at any given moment when he wanted to.

As he held her at arms length she took in the sight of him and couldn't help but smile, "What on earth are you wearing?"

"What am I...?" He gave a look of mock offence as his words trailed off for a second before slipping in a little bit of a Santino flair. "I am the greatest pirate of all the times, Captain Feathersword!" He struck a pose, hands on his hips as he stood like a proud captain on the deck of a ship in his regalia for the Wiggles character; complete with hat, an eye patch and said feather sword. She couldn't help but giggle as he carried on.

"Where's my hug?" Came a second and familiar voice behind Anthony.

"Oh my god, Phil!" With great enthusiasm she embraced the straight edge wrestler. The pair had known each other for close to ten years; The CM Punk and Callisto on again/off again mixed tag team and valet/wrester duo had been well recorded on the indy scene. "Just how many of you did Stu drag back here?"

"Only one more." Cody Runnels, AKA Cody Rhodes, piped up and in turn received his own warm welcome. While she didn't know Cody quite as well as Phil or Anthony, from what time she had spent in his company on her occasional trips with Stu on the road it had always been one of the highlights of her visits. The fact that she had been a huge fan of his older brother, adamant that the underutilisation of Goldust was completely and utterly criminal, hadn't hurt things either. While he had heard of it, Cody had never seen the Gasparilla Pirate festival and wanted to check it out. The born and bred Tampa native was only to happy to oblige him, she had been attending it almost every year of her life.

Ushering the three men inside she lead them to the kitchen with an offer of coffee, to which they all accepted. They spent the time they had catching up and before long it was time to leave for Hillsborough Bay. With Tony in full pirate costume Stu, Phil and Cody opted for the default disguises of caps, hoodies and sunglasses before piling into Imogen's car and headed off to see the spectacle that was over one hundred years old and still going strong. The place was already packed by the time they arrived, but with a little manoeuvring and ingenuity the five of them had managed to find a decent spot... on the roof of a delivery truck that had been parked in front of some shops and wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon with the huge crowd that was here.

The one hundred and sixty-five foot long ship, _Jose Gasparilla_, came into view, opening fire on the hundreds of craft that sailed out to meet it in 'combat' before realising the folly of such a mission and turned to join to sail with the crew of several hundred pirates that were aboard. The vessels sailed into the bay proper, where the pirate ship continued to fire her guns at the city and eventually the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla made landfall and stormed Tampa.

The day wore on and the group thoroughly enjoyed themselves through the day's events, the festival was officially in full swing. Before long the sun had set and Imogen lead the way for where the wrestling event was going to be taking place. The ring itself was set up outside, the evening had been mild considering it was the middle of winter and everyone wanted to take full advantage of such beautiful weather. She led them backstage of the small building that had been hired out for locker rooms and whatnot she gave Stu a quick kiss before disappearing to get ready.

"Is that... Shane?" Cody asked, looking closely at a man across the room talking to the promoter as they went over sheets of paper. The others looked in the direction Cody had pointed out and indeed, it was their boss. "I wonder what he's doing."

"Lets go find out."

The quartet went over and Shane looked up, "Evening boys, fancy seeing you all here."

"We could say the same thing." Stu replied, "What brings you down? Aside from the Rumble tomorrow."

He grinned, "Scouting new talent. I've been told that some of these women are unbelievably good, so I thought I'd come see for myself and see if there's anything I like." He turned back to the promoter as he skimmed the card for tonight, "The SHIMMER champion is competing tonight?"

"Yes sir, if you want one hell of a women's match-up then you can't go past Callisto." He beamed, "Never seen a woman work as hard as that one. If you don't believe me I'm sure Mr Brooks here can vouch for her to."

"you know her?" Shane asked curiously, catching an inattentive Phil off guard for a moment.

"Yeah, we worked together here and there for a while." He replied casually. "If you really want to know about her now you should ask Stu, she's his girl."

Now his interest was really catching on. At least two of his employees standing in front of him knew the local champion well, he had no doubt that Carelli and Runnels knew her to, why else would they be backstage?

Tonight, in honour of the festival, all the competitors costumes had at least a little pirate flair, but Imogen and her opponent had gone all out; opting to wrestle in complete pirate garb. Imogen's costume was modelled somewhat after the character Isabella from Dragon Age 2. The energy was high among the crowd at ring side, it was probably close to two hundred people. The first couple of matches had done a great job of warming them up, now it was Imogen's turn. Taking a few deep breaths she listened to the opening moments of Megadeth's _She-Wolf_, and couldn't help a small smile at the crowd's reaction, she hadn't even shown her face yet and already they were booing like mad. How she loved playing the villianess. With a nod from the stage-hand She burst through the curtain; no longer Imogen Campbell but Callisto, a conceited bitch who enjoyed tearing apart those she deemed 'talentless' models that were nothing more than posers.

Stu had seen his girlfriend wear a variety of costumes and gear over the five years they had been together; none of them had made her more appealing to him than right now, and that was saying something. The black leather boots she wore stopped mid thigh, showing off the tanned skin between it an the hem of the high bikini line cut of the bottom of the bodice. A blue silk sash was tied around her waist, hugging her hips. The top of it showed a generous amount of her ample cleavage, pushed together by the laced up front of the costume. Her thick hair that hung in loose curls spilled wildly down her back and in front of her shoulders, barely kept out of her face from the blue bandanna she wore. An arrogant, better-than-you smirk that was fixed on her face as she sauntered casually toward the ring, showing off the gold that was slung over her shoulder. If he had his way she'd be wearing that every time he got home, instead of once a year.

Stu and company weren't the only one taking overt interest in the champion as the match got under way and the two competitors gave it their all, giving the fans all they had for almost twenty minutes, with Callisto coming out as the clear winner. After mocking the crowd she spotted Stu and couldn't help herself, she needed to pay him back for this morning. With a sultry swing in her hips she walked over to him, a hand coming to rest on his jaw and kissed him, sucking on his lower lip briefly before pulling away with a mischievous glint in her eye and strolled off. Phil and cody smirked at him as he cleared his throat trying to regain his composure and Tony couldn't stop from laughing at him.

Shane McMahon believed he knew a gorgeous woman when he saw one and Imogen was definitely no exception. He didn't give a rats ass that she was Stu Bennett's woman. If Shane wanted something, then come hell or high water it was would be his, and what he wanted right now was none other than Imogen Campbell.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm so sorry about that!"

"No real harm done, don't sweat it."

"But I feel terrible."

"Relax, Katie." Imogen reassured her defeated opponent as she held ice over her wrist. "It'll be fine in a day or two at most." After the adrenaline had worn off she had found her wrist far more tender than it should have been, a result from an overzealous wrist lock fuelled by nervous jitters. Katie Lewis was still fairly new on the scene -having jumped straight out of high school and into a wrestling school- and Imogen had taken the nineteen year old under her proverbial wing after seeing the younger woman's budding potential. In a way Katie reminded her of herself, she had pretty much travelled down the same road. While still quite green the girl had enthusiasm and a true love for the craft, coupled with a dedicated hard work ethic. As she continued to improve the angle for the rivalry between them was for 'Kitty Lee' to eventually beat the devious champion Callisto and win the strap; making the heel eat her own words as all good babyfaces overcoming the odds do.

"That was spectacular! Stupendous!" A dramatic Italian accent cut in from across the room, Anthony marching across it in his brightly coloured costume. "And funny as hell from the look on Bennett's face at the end."

"Can it, Carelli." Stu shot back, though his words lacked aggressive bite. The boys had been ribbing him about it non stop. Turning to his girlfriend with a hint of puppy dog eyes he implored, "Why?"

"Because, my dear." Flashing him a trademark Callisto smirk as she stood up, "Payback, like Callsito, is a bitch."

"No, I mean why did you have to change? That costume was just..." While his words trailed off, his eyes finished the statement. She had kept the boots on though and he couldn't help but smirk.

She rolled her own but failed to stop the mirth that crept into her voice. "Down boy. I'll put it away with the rest of your favourites, OK?"

"Hold up, this is as far as that particular conversation is going." Phil interrupted, raising a hand. "I, for one, am happy in my ignorance of whatever you do to Stu behind closed doors, Cal."

"But you're supposed to be my best friend, Punkster!" She replied with feigned hurt, "You, me and Cabana Boy! Besties tell each other everything."

"True, but I'm a man. As such I don't need to hear what you get up to with Bennett's ugly butt."

She threw the ice pack at him, only to have Phil catch it. "His butt is not ugly. In fact I think it's rather sexy..."

With a long suffering sigh the man in question interrupted the two friends banter. "You can stop talking like I'm not actually here now." He turned to the second woman in the room and smiled, 'You did great out there tonight, Katie. Nice to see you improving every time."

Katie, for her part, suddenly became shy and self conscious; trying not to release her inner fan girl on the four men that had walked in. She had been aware of her mentor's relationship with the man known to the world as Wade Barrett and had even met him once or twice; but hadn't expected him to be here tonight, let alone with three more of his co-workers. And if the rumour was true, their boss as well, Shane McMahon. "Thanks, Stu." She barely squeaked out, then turned red at the sudden retreat of her own voice. "See you on Tuesday?" She asked, looking imploringly at Imogen. She just wanted to get the hell out of there before she died of embarrassment.

The older woman smiled, understanding the flustered distress of the other, "Absolutely. Enjoy the rest of the night." she watched the blond girl beat a hasty exit amongst speedy goodbyes and all but ran out the door. "Poor girl." She chuckled, "You guys just bursting in here like that... intimidating her."

"I didn't even say anything!" Cody exclaimed, "She is cute though..."

"She's also only nineteen."

He seemed to consider this for a moment, then shrugged. It wasn't like he was going to do anything. "Still cute."

Imogen smiled and shook her head, attention shifting toward the door when someone knocked. Being the closest Cody opened it, "Hey, Shane."

"Hey boys." Shane said as he entered the room, "And you must be the lovely Miss Campbell."

The predatory once over the Raw General Manager gave her was subtle, knowing that he could get away with it by having his back to the four men as he reached out to shake her hand. Imogen noticed it all the same and repressed a shudder; there was an instinct, a gut reaction to him that she simply didn't like nor trust. His hands were soft and fingernails were even better manicured than her own as he shook hers, the hand tailored suit fit his frame perfectly. Not even a hair on his head was out of place. In short, every aspect of the man's appearance was impeccable. Forcing a cheerfulness into her voice that she didn't feel for him Imogen decided to play nice for Stu's sake, there was no point aggravating her boyfriend's boss. "That would be me."

He looked into her eyes, trying to get a read on what she maybe thinking, but came up with nothing. He'd wager she'd make one formidable poker player with an unreadable countenance like that. "Just thought I'd come back and congratulate you on your win tonight. The fact that Bennett and Brooks here have kept you under wraps for this long is almost criminal."

"Thank you..." The reply seemed to end in a question, she didn't know quite how to respond to comment. It wasn't as if Stu hadn't tried talking her into applying for the WWE or keeping her down from it, even Phil had talked about it on occasion but understood; she was just happy right where she was. "So what brings you down to the show tonight?"

"Flew in early to go over some of the final preparations for the Rumble tomorrow night." He replied, watching as she edged her way as casually as she could to stand by Stu's side and intertwining her fingers with his, the message she was sending McMahon as he continued to check her out under the radar was clear. _Not interested_. Pft, like he cared... but he'd play along for now. "So when I heard about a show being put on for the festival I decided to come and have a look. You never know where you'll find talent these days and you, Miss Campbell, have it in spades." He had a feeling what the answer to what he was going to say next would be, but his mind was already working on plans to change that. "In fact, I'd like to offer you a contract to go straight onto the active roster on Raw."

The look of surprise not only on Imogen's face, but of the guys, was unmistakable. _That _was one hell of an offer, to skip the development territories of OVW and FCW all together and go straight onto the WWE flagship show itself? It was virtually unheard of. So much so that it shocked her into the exact reaction he predicted, "Wow... That's just..." It was rare when Imogen felt awkward, but she didn't know quite what to say. Yes the offer was _extremely_ generous, but she didn't really want to get into the company like that. On the other hand she didn't want to run the risk of offending Stu's boss and getting him -or Phil, Cody and Anthony for simple association- into any trouble. "That's one hell of an offer, Mr McMahon; and I'm flattered that you think that highly of me, but with all due respect I'd like to decline the offer."

Phil looked at her like she had lost her damn mind. Even with all the talent and experience he had, CM Punk still had to go through the development rosters until he got his call to be moved up to the active roster. Even then it wasn't smooth sailing, he had fought tooth and nail for three years to finally get into the spot he was in now. Now one of his best friends gets the offer of a lifetime and she... _knocked it back!_? Looking around at his friends showed similar reactions, so the vote was unanimous; Imogen was officially insane.

"No problem." Shane replied, hands up in a non threatening manner and put on his most charming smile. "I know it was sudden but hey, I liked what I saw out there in the ring tonight. When I find something I like I usually want it as soon as I can. Could you at least think about it for a while?"

"I... guess I can do that."

She started to fidget and Stu picked up on her discomfort, so decided to take the lead. "Well, we're going to go see the some of the bands playing and have a few drinks." He announced with a casual air.

Shane got the unspoken message, "Have fun guys, I still have some stuff to to about the show. A GM's job is never done." With a round of goodbyes they left, Shane's eyes glued to Imogen's ass. He was going to have to have a little chat to Bennett on Sunday and convince him that convincing her to take the contract was a good idea...

* * *

><p>"I can't <em>believe<em> you turned that down." Cody said over a beer. After checking out some of the music acts they decided to get a couple of drinks before finally calling it a night. They had found a bar that had a balcony to overlook the swarms of people below as the music weaved it's way through them, making a great cheerful atmosphere all around. "Do you know how many people would've killed for that?"

"I know, I know." She replied, waving the question off before taking a sip of her juice. Even if she felt like drinking tonight she couldn't; such were the cons of being the designated driver. The pro was her drinks were free because of it. "I'm officially the craziest wrestler to ever walk the face of god's green earth. Happy?"

"But... why?"

"Honestly? He was creeping me out." Came the blunt reply, this time not bothering to hide the shiver that ran down her spine. "He was eyeing me off like I was a damn sandwich, thinking he was being subtle about it, right in front of all of you. The man is a sleaze." They couldn't argue, it was a known fact that Shane was a womaniser. More than one of the Diva's over the years had taken the younger McMahon up on an 'offer' to further their careers. The fact that he had so blatantly ogled her right in front of Stu just disgusted her further. Stu himself wasn't impressed with Shane's behaviour either but he wasn't stupid, this was a man who litterally held his career in the palm of his hand. It was a difficult spot to be in.

He also had learned a long time a go that men in general were going to stare at her, she had the looks and he knew it. For the most part he found it an ego boost; he knew if she wanted, Imogen could have any man she focused her sights on -like her heel persona Callisto did whenever a rare angle called for such a thing- but she ignored them all. As far as she was concerned there was only one man for her, and he was it. She didn't care about his fame or his money, and was secure enough to trust him out on the road to resist the hordes of ring-rats trying to throw themselves at him for weeks on end. She just wanted him; Stu Bennett. But still, he couldn't deny the small voice inside him that cried it's protest about not wanting to go on the road with him. They saw so little of each other as it was now and he got tired of the endless lonely nights in one hotel room after the next. His arm came around her and she willingly leaned back to rest her head on his shoulder. Every time he held her she could feel the love and protection he offered and revelled in it. His thumb stroked along her bicep and she melted further into his embrace.

"You keep that up, Stu, and we're going to have to try and get a taxi back to the hotel." Phil grinned, though it made him glad to see one of his closest friends so happy, especially after the turbulent rollercoaster that was her last relationship before Bennett. He had been a paranoid, suspicious and in the end hypocritical piece of work. Every time she had come home from doing a tour of shows he'd always question and accuse her of sleeping with any of the guys -more than once Phil himself the target of said accusations, despite his obvious straight edge lifestyle- all the while hitting up the clubs and nailing random women while she was out busting her ass working. He'd never, for as long as he lived, forget the reaction when she had come home early one time with himself in tow for a few days of surf and sand. They had walked in to find her ex right in the middle of rutting with some peroxide blond bent over the back of the couch. He had never seen a man, let alone a butt naked one, run that fast down the street after she had absolutely exploded on him. When he eventually came back for his stuff she simply pointed to a decent sized fire in the front yard and told him to have at it before slamming the door in his face.

He wished he could see her more often than they did though; it was hard enough finding the time when they lived in different cities, even more so now with his travel schedule.

It was past one in the morning by the time they had finally had enough; Phil unable to resist teasing the more than tipsy target that was Cody -who as it turned out was one of those hugging type drunks and constantly telling everyone he loved them- as he and Tony herded the third generation wrestler to where they had parked and then through the lobby and into the elevator once they had reached the hotel and had said their goodbyes to the couple.

The pair finally reached home and walked through the main room then down the hall, not bothering to turn on any of the lights, Imogen peeled off the light sweater she had worn and threw it on the couch as they passed it. They reached the bedroom and she fiddled with the clasp on her skirt as he pulled the dress shirt he had been wearing over his head and then stripped down to his boxer briefs. She turned as she absently picked at the buttons of her blouse before catching the smouldering look in his moonlit eyes, sending a thrill straight through her. In two strides he had closed the space between them, his hands cupping her face and claimed her lips with his own, wanting to make her forget the sordid staring of his boss. She reciprocated in kind, wrapping her arms around his neck, her tongue darting out to play with his. Stu's hands roamed down her body to her thighs and hoisted her up, leather clad legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he cupped her ass.

His evident arousal poked at her and briefly she broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his. Her breathing was heavy, breasts pushed flush against the hard planes of his chest. "Stu..." She whispered, words dripping with need. He knew how to push all the right buttons to drive her wild and she absolutely loved him for it. "Make love to me."

"Whatever the lady wants..." He replied with a husky tone, seeing the look of love and desire in her eyes. He dominantly claimed her lips again, scattering any and all thought that wasn't focused on him to the four winds. "The lady gets."

* * *

><p><em>OK, I have no idea if that last part is corny or not. Truth be told fluffsmut isn't one of my strongest points (though I've been told I can write killer action sequences! Such is the way of things when you're raised on Arnie movies.). So any pointers/critique will be valued, so long as it's constructive._

_Peace!_


	3. Chapter 3

Stu was in the locker room, ignoring his surroundings as he finished taping up his hands and tried to focus his mind on the upcoming Rumble. Out of all forty competitors this year he was the one going in as number one and actually slated to win. After a brief heel stint back during the summer, John Cena had turned face again and for the first time in years was finally getting a unanimous crowd reaction. The two had been feuding across brands for a couple of months and it was all going to come to a head at Wrestlemania.

To be blunt Stu still didn't know what to think of Cena, even after several years working together on and off. The man worked his ass off for the company, both in and out of the ring, and generally appeared to be an all right guy. But there was just something about him that Bennett couldn't quite place, something shifty. While he didn't hate the guy, he had never truly trusted him either. He had definitely come back into favour among the fans now that the shows rating had been raised once again and he was allowed to go back to something akin to his Thuganomics days... though with less bad rapping. This concerned him to a point, the whole angle was set for him to take the title from John and win his first WWE championship, but this being the business it was he wouldn't bank on anything until he had the strap firmly in his grasp. Stu knew better than to think it was all fun and games behind the curtain, and not everyone got along, in fact sometimes the competition between them all for so few prizes did strange things to some people. He shook his head, there was no point worrying about something that was still two months away. Even if they did decide to try and change it he wouldn't give up his shot without a fight; he'd worked to damn hard to let them simply palm it off to Cena... again. Over the next few minutes or so his thoughts drifted, again ending up on the big thing that had occurred yesterday night; Shane's offer to Imogen.

He wondered what had possessed not only her to turn it down but for him to offer something like that in the first place. Of course he knew she had talent; hell at twenty eight and having been training and competing for over ten years, how could someone _not_ be good at what they did? But at the same time so did a lot of the other people that only got developmental contracts with no guarantee of being called up to the active roster. But to turn down working for the WWE, working together with him... try as he might that little selfish voice inside him spoke up again, just wanting her to take it and to hell with the consequences. He sighed, realising just how narcissistic that sounded. The door opened and Shane walked in, sitting down opposite of the British superstar. Stu nodded in acknowledgement to his boss but didn't say anything.

"I know you're trying to focus on the Rumble, so I'll be brief." Shane began, not bothering with the pleasantries. He knew that whatever he had to say Stu would prefer it if he kept it short, the man liked to be on his own just before a big match. "I know you were all more than a little surprised by the offer I made to Miss Campbell last night, your faces said it clearly enough. There was a reason behind it though." Stu cocked a brow in interest, wondering what McMahon had planned. "Everyone knows the questionable state the Diva's division has been in for a while, most of the girls came in with very little training before they were thrown in the ring since the exodus of our more experienced women; Trish, Amy and Mickie for example. There's only so many times Beth and Nattie can carry the current crop before burning out, despite the improvements by some of them. Basically what I'm trying to say is that I want Divas matches to be exciting again, not just simple three to five minute intermission fillers or piss breaks."

"So you want to bring Imogen in to even out the work load?" A part of him knew Shane wasn't being entirely on the level with him about it, yet his words sounded sincere.

"Exactly!" McMahon replied with a click of his fingers. "I meant what I said last night, she has talent in spades; huge ones at that. Not only does she know her way around a ring but she also has that look to satisfy the board. She's strong, a real spitfire in the ring and incredibly sexy; making you one lucky bastard to have her to yourself." He got up and prepared to leave Bennett with his thoughts. "I know it's sudden, but I'm just trying to clean up the mess that my dear old dad, much as I love him, ignored for years on end. Getting some more experienced women in that ring ASAP just seems like good business sense to me. I probably came off a little strong when I offered it, but maybe you can talk to her about it." With that he left, quite pleased with how honest his bullshit had sounded, even to his own ears. Well, it wasn't entirely bullshit. While he honestly didn't care about the Divas division, improving it wouldn't exactly hurt either. Compared to some of the current women on the roster the fans would always prefer the greats that came before them. And when the fans preferred something they were more inclined to spend their hard earned cash on it. Who was he to turn down money they would want to give him?

* * *

><p>Imogen and Katie were sitting at ringside in the front row, thoroughly enjoying the show. They added their voices to the thousands in attendance cheering Anthony on to his first capture of the United States championship over Dolph Ziggler and giggling at his victory antics. Phil successfully defended his World Heavyweight championship from Jack Swagger; and amidst the jeers and boos even cheered on Cody and his partner, heel turned Ted DiBiase, as they took the tag team titles from Jey and Jimmy Uso. They were split on the match for the WWE championship match though; Katie taking guilty pleasure in being a Cena fan and Imogen not really caring either way, so took the opportunity to go to the concession stand. Coming back she handed her young friend a Pepsi then sipped at her own, the anticipation for the Rumble itself almost killing her. Stu had always refused to tell her the outcomes of who was going to win what and she was fine with that, it kept an air of surprise about what was going to happen if she hadn't figured it out beforehand.<p>

"So I'd ask you who was going to win, but I think your opinion would be more than a little biased." Katie said with a grin during the brief lull before the Rumble itself as the usual Road to Wrestlemania vignettes played over the Titantron. The statement bought an undeniable smile to Imogen's face. "He really wont tell you, huh?"

"Nope. He wouldn't give me so much as a hint." She replied with a small shake of her head, "You wont believe what happened last night just after you left either. McMahon came in and offered me a contract."

"Seriously?" The younger woman's voice was filled with excitement. "When are you going?"

"I'm not." Just as she expected, Katie gave her the same look as the guys had the night before. "It wasn't just a development contract, it was to bypass all that and go straight onto Raw."

"You didn't take that because?"

"Think about it for a moment. I'm just a woman off the independent circuit; when it comes down to it hardly, if any, of these people would know who in the blue hell I am, so why would they care?" Imogen replied with a sweep of her hand toward the arena packed crowd. "Not to mention all the resentment I'd probably get back from the rest of them backstage who had to bust their ass and get here the hard way. Then to top it all off there was McMahon's painfully obvious perving."

"What does Stu think about it?"

"I know he really wants me to take it, even though he hasn't actually said anything. A part of me wants to do it just to make him happy." She sighed, her fingers running through her hair as she pushed it out of her face. The decision to take it or not was a hard one only because she knew as soon as the PPV was over tonight Stu would have to leave at some ridiculous hour in the morning to be on the road for god knows how long again. She had long since accepted the fact as soon as he told her that he had been picked to do the first season of NXT that this would be how things from now on were going to be; but there were times she just couldn't stop herself from resenting it on occasion. "And what if I'm just left to be like some cardboard cut out for the occasional back stage skit? I'm a wrestler, not a god damn model. It's just..." The sentence died out, trailing of in frustration.

"The thought of going in front of this many people so suddenly scares you, doesn't it?" Despite her age, Katie could be very perceptive when she needed to be and could see the other big thing weighing down on her friend's mind. After a moment the older woman reluctantly nodded. She could understand that though; her biggest crowd had only been about three, maybe four hundred people. Katie couldn't imagine how, even if, she'd cope going from that to tens of thousands almost instantly, it sounded more than a little overwhelming.

Before they could go any further with the conversation, Lillian Garcia announced that it was time for the Royal Rumble to begin. At the sound of the first entrant's music, Imogen couldn't stop the excited smile that spread across her face. Stu appeared out of the tunnel in full Wade Barrett mode and sauntered toward the ring with his trademark smirk firmly in place as he strutted around the ring with an air of dominance as he waited for the second entrant. Zack Ryder was the second man and soon the Rumble was officially under way. For over ninety gruelling minutes Stu toughed it out, at times barely able to keep himself from being thrown out by some more than overzealous co-workers, until finally he was the only one left standing. Body feeling like lead the only thing that kept him standing was the thrill of victory as he chanced a look to a certain seat in the front row; it took all of what he had left not to break kayfabe and simply jump over the barricade as he took in the sight of Imogen's gleeful features. With what Shane had put in his head earlier combined with the rush of his Rumble win, Stu was going to try absolutely everything to get her to take the offer. When he finally did get to Wrestlemania he didn't want her in the front row; but at ringside, in his corner.

* * *

><p>Imogen's hand snaked over the bed only to be greeted with the feel of the cool sheet. Prying open one sleepy eye she looked over to the vacant spot then at the digital alarm clock on Stu's side of the bed, reading the time displayed in green LED light; it was a little past five in the morning. Getting up she stretched then groped around for a shirt, finding Stu's dress shirt from last night. Noticing a thin strip of light coming from under the bathroom door on the opposite side of the hallway she debated with herself about joining him in the shower after hearing the running water, but decided against it. If she did that there was no way in hell she would allow him to leave in time for his flight.<p>

Wrapping the long sleeved shirt around her she was all but swimming the the black dyed cotton as she went toward the kitchen and started fiddling around with the coffee. A smile languidly spread across her face as a pair a strong arms encircled her waist, "Morning."

He placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Morning." Picking up the second cup he sipped at the hot brew and they sat down at the table. "So," Stu began slowly once he had finished, "Have you thought any more about that contract offer?"

"Isn't it a bit early to go over that?" Imogen replied, hiding a small yawn behind her hand.

"Well it's not as if we have time to do it later today." He picked up her hand, his thumb stroking over her fingers gently. "But last night, after I won and looked at you, I just didn't really want to do this any more by myself. There are times I get tired of looking at people, like Mike and Maryse, both on the road and together." His eyes looked almost imploringly into hers, "I'm not saying it's something that has to last forever, I just want you to give it a chance."

She hated that look, it was almost impossible for her to deny him when he used it. Even though officially they were green his eyes had this unusual trait of changing colour depending on his mood, and it fascinated her no end. It also made him somewhat easier to read and if his tone didn't tell her he meant it, then the look in his gaze did. He had never asked her for a thing before, but this obviously meant a lot to him that she do it. Pushing down the foreboding sense of trepidation she looked into her empty mug before slowly getting up from the table. "All right, Stu." She said after a moment, offering him a small smile, "I'll do it. Not for the money, not for the exposure or anything else. I'll do it for you."

His eye lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as he leapt out of the chair; enveloping Imogen in his arms, swung her around before putting her down and planting a flurry of kisses on her lips. "Thank you, love." He whispered, head almost spinning he felt so giddy.

If he only knew what was lying in wait over the next few months, he would have given the world to turn that conversation in a different direction...

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><p><em>Woo, love birds on the road! Now make them happy and leave a review ;)<em>


	4. Chapter 4

"_So," The detective said, "Just so I have this straight so far. You talk your girlfriend into signing a contract for a man that was blatantly attracted to her, despite her own obvious discomfort at the idea."_

_Stu's jaw clenched at the officer's tone as he fought for a bit of self control. He made it sound that Stu was an idiot for even entertaining the idea at the time. "Yes, but like I said, having other men check her out was nothing new to either of us. She'd been getting looks like that **years** before I had even met her and they never acted on it." He ground out."Tell me something detective, are you married?"_

_The cop slowly stroked his trimmed salt and pepper shaded beard as he observed the wrestler for a moment, wondering what he was up to. For the time being he decided to go along with whatever the younger man had in mind. "Yes, I am. Have been for almost twenty years." He replied with a nod of his head._

_Stu straightened up in his chair a little, "And there are times where you're at work far more than you're at home, right?" Another nod was the reply."Well take all that time you're at work and think of doing that for almost three hundred days out of the year." Stu said, "Was my decision to talk Imogen into it selfish? Yes, I admit that. But you have **no idea** how hard it can be travelling that much and being in a committed relationship at the same time; especially when your better half does the same thing for a living, adding even more scheduling conflicts." Absently his fingers began drumming on the table as he stared out the chain link protected window, realising it was now dark outside. He must have been in here for longer than he thought, it was late afternoon when they hauled him in and the sun had been up. "I just wanted to spend some quality time with my bird, is that so hard to understand?"_

"_No." The officer replied calmly, "I guess it isn't." He shuffled through some more of his notes and proceeded onward. "So, Miss Campbell agrees to take the contract. Did she go with you that night for the Raw broadcast?"_

_Stu shook his head. "She didn't join me until two weeks later. There were things she had to sort out with SHIMMER, being their champion, and also a few appearances she had with other promotions she had to cancel."_

"_Alright, Tell me what happened after that."_

"_Well we had it set up so she was bought into a rivalry with Barbie Blank, who was Cena's on-screen romance." He explained at the man's blank stare at the blond diva's name, "Kelly Kelly. She's the 'good girl', so to speak, of the women's division but in reality she's... well... a bitch..."_

* * *

><p>Stu pulled up at the arena and killed the engine, then looked over at Imogen who was in the passenger seat. "Relax, love, you'll be fine tonight."<p>

"Easy for you to say, you're used to having twenty thousand people baying for your blood." She grumbled, unable to stop her fidgeting. The closer it had come to the start of the show the harder it became for her to hide her nervousness. About the fans, getting in the ring and potentially making an ass of herself and most of all, the reaction to everyone else on the roster at her sudden employment.

He chuckled as he popped the trunk, opened the door and climbed out with Imogen following suit. "You know if you let Barbie show you up tonight I'll never let you live it down." He teased as he retrieved their bags, trying to lighten her mood and was rewarded with a firm smack on the arm. "Ow."

Tonight was when Stu would finally announce which title he would be chasing at Wrestlemania and as such Phil, as the World Heavyweight champion, was required to be there. Stu would pick Cena and then he and John would then get into a war of words and just before they were about to butt heads Shane would step in, not wanting his Wrestlemania match to come early. Instead they would have to settle on picking a Diva to each represent them, whoever picked the winner would be allowed to pick the type of match the pair of them would have. John would naturally pick his on-screen flame Kelly and Wade would make a snarky comment about her wrestling skills before 'choosing' someone from the crowd.

Stu opened the door, allowing her to go in first and they both entered the arena proper. He laced his fingers with hers and his thumb traced small circles on the back of her hand, the result seeming to relax her a little. "But like I said, you'll be fine. Once you slip into Callisto mode and get in that ring I know you'll do great." They spotted Phil and Tony ahead of them, but the initial smiles on their faces turned to annoyed grimaces as they saw who was coming up behind the couple.

"Well, well, well." A feminine voice called from behind and Stu suppressed an exasperated groan. He had been hoping to avoid this for a little while at least. "You must be the new 'Diva' everyone has been talking about." The tone was not friendly or pleasant; the haughty attitude almost instantly set Imogen's tense nerves on edge even further. Taking a deep breath she turned to face this new addition to the scenario, determined not to be cowed by anybody.

"Yes, that would be me." Her voice was neutral; while she may have been nervous as hell she wasn't about to show it now. Knowing that having Stu by her side and two of her friends were only feet away helped her with keeping up the brave face. While she had never actually talked to Barbie Blank up until this point she had heard the stories from the boys and didn't feel inclined to get to know the woman any further than she had to. The brunette cocked a questioning brow as the blond, and her little friend Eve who was in tow, looked her up and down with an unimpressed appraisal. "What?"

"Nothing." She replied, "I'm just wondering what exactly you had to do, to have Shane offer you a contract like the one you got." While she didn't say it directly, the implied insult was clear. There was no way, in her mind, that Imogen could have gotten such a deal without spreading her legs for the boss.

"Simple really, I know how to actually _wrestle_. You should try it some time." She smirked, a little of her alter ego slipping into the forefront. "So, sorry if you were hoping to palm off your title as the company bicycle off onto me."

The look of infuriated shock combined with the casual delivery of Imogen's blunt statement was more than enough to set Phil off into a fit of laughter, Anthony to hide his own snicker by staring at the floor and Stu not even bothering to hide his smirk. While everyone knew the rumours and stories, no-one had voiced as much to the woman herself. Being the Diva of the moment that everyone wanted to put in their magazines had its certain advantages. Unfortunately for Blank she came to learn what it was that made the unknown woman and the Straight Edge champion such good friends. Both weren't shy about calling it how they saw it and they didn't give a damn who the target of their words were.

"What did you say to me?" Barbie was livid, how dare this nobody of a tramp run her mouth off to her! She was the Diva's champion for Christ sake!

"I'm sorry, did I stutter?" Imogen asked innocently. "Well in case I did I can repeat it again..." Before she could say anything else Blank's hand had swung at her face, only to have Imogen catch her wrist. "Now now, you'll get all the time in the world to throw you god awful slaps at me later tonight. Although if you don't put some effort into those swings I'm going to have a really hard time believably selling them, _if_ I decide to carry the match of course."

It was to easy to push the champion's buttons she found. "You better watch yourself." Barbie sneered as Eve tugged on her friend's arm and the pair left the newcomer with a dirty look.

She watched them as they stalked down the hall, Phil behind her finally getting a hold of himself when she called out after the blond Diva. "Hey, Blank!" She grinned as the woman whirled around furiously, glaring at Imogen. With a gesture like she was holding onto a pair of handlebars on a bike Imogen twitched her thumb, "Ring ring!" With a noise that was between a shriek and a growl she stormed off, the laughter and snickering of the guys ringing in her ears.

"Oh god, Cal, that was priceless." Phil managed to get out, resting a hand on her shoulder as his laughter again slowly subsided, eyes slightly watery from the effort to contain himself.

She smiled, any and all nervousness she had previously seemed to have evaporated, "You know, I'm kind of glad that whole thing happened now. It's given me something to focus on."

"And just what is that?" Stu asked; he wasn't quite sure how the first meeting between them would have gone, but was amused with what had just transpired. On more than one occasion Barbie had tried to come onto him, despite Stu blatantly telling the woman he wasn't interested.

Her smile turned into a devious smirk. "Embarrassing her in front of the entire arena."

Stu simply chuckled, and after dropping their bags off in the respective locker rooms they went with Phil to see Shane and Cena about their segment while Tony went to track down Nick Nemeth about what they would do tonight over the United States title.

* * *

><p>For the second time in three weeks Imogen found herself in the front row for a WWE event, the nerves and excitement churning in her stomach at an all time high. Both Phil and Stu had assured her that it was normal and she would do great as the trio had made their way to Shane's office. She did her best to ignore the hungry glances Shane kept throwing at her when he knew he could get away with it, the almost predatory way he did it making her uncomfortable, until they finally sorted out how the segment was going to go. Stu, after weighing the pro's and cons of each belt would decide on going after John's, based on the inability to ignore the rivalry between the two. Barbie had also been there and it was painfully obvious the two women didn't like each other, McMahon seeing this as a good thing in more ways than one.<p>

One by one the men got into the ring; first Shane, then Punk, John -with Kelly Kelly by his side- and finally Wade. Imogen couldn't help the small smile as he spoke; it didn't matter if he was trash talking on his opponents or talking himself up, she could listen to his accent all day.

"So even though I could just as easily take the world Championship from you, Punk..." Wade Barrett sneered at the Voice of the Voiceless, earning a look of mock fear from the man, before turning to John, "You and I have some unfinished business, Cena." His trademark smirk crept onto his face as his eyes went from John to the title and back again. "If you think I made your life miserable back with Nexus, and even more so over the past few months, then you haven't seen anything yet."

John wasn't backing down and stood toe to toe with the Englishman, "Whatever you've got, Barrett, bring it. You're gonna need it." John replied with determination. "Because I will not back down and I will. Not. Quit!" A thunderous roar echoed around the arena, everyone behind him to defeat the villainous Brit. Wade's smirk went positively evil before he launched abruptly at the champion, smashing him into the turn-buckle then went for the Wasteland. John managed to worm his way free and get his own shots in on the challenger before Wade managed to escape the ring.

"Enough!" Shane shouted; putting himself in between John and the ropes, preventing him from going after Wade. "I'm not going to have you tearing each other apart this close to Wrestlemania, so here's what I'm going to do. Tonight, we're going to have a Diva's match. Each of you is going to go back there and pick a diva to represent you. Whoever picked the winner gets to choose what type of match you two get to have for the title." The crowd was behind the idea and as McMahon looked between the two they accepted it.

"I'm game." John declared, "And I don't even have to go anywhere for my girl." He grinned, raising K2's arm and the fans approved.

"Are you serious?" Wade snickered, "I bet I could pick anyone out of the crowd here tonight that could do a better job. In fact, that's _exactly_ what I'm going to do." He wandered around ringside, appraising the few various women in the front row then moving on until he finally came to where Imogen sat. Her eyes locked with his, and Callisto met Wade Barrett for the first time. "What's your name?" He asked, then held out the mic for her to reply.

"Callisto." She replied with a ghost of a smirk, voice strong and ever so slightly sultry. Not a hint of anxiety wavered it; she was ready.

"Well, at least this cesspit they call Philadelphia has one good thing going for it." The cheap crack at the city and it's populace earned him even more heat as her cruel laugh cut through it.

"Oh no no no, honey, I'm not from here. I was just passing through town and decided to come to the show." She replied, "Quite frankly I can wait to get out of this hole." The crowd got even more vocal at the pair bashing on their beloved home town.

"Beautiful and smart." He grinned, "Tell me, do you think you could beat the Diva's champion?"

"No, I don't think I can..." Callisto paused for effect, then grinned arrogantly. "I _know_ I can. She's nothing but a glorified bikini model for a trashy magazine." The idea of even entertaining the possibility of carrying Kelly Kelly through the match had long since faded due to the woman's own rudeness. They didn't have to like each other, but if she had shown even just a shred of civility and respect Callisto would have been more open to the idea.

Wade nodded in approval and held his hand out for her to climb over the barricade. "Hold on, you can't just pick some random fan out of the audience, Barrett." Shane objected, "It's a legal nightmare waiting to happen."

"Oh please." Callisto scoffed, "I hereby declare that if, by some miracle of God, she can beat me or I get injured in any way I'm not going to sue you for all you're worth. I think having an arena full of people and having that on tape should satisfy any legalities, yes?"

He thought it over for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine by me. Let's get a ref out here!" Jack Doan jogged down to the ring as Wade and John stood on opposite sides of the ring with Shane called for the bell, the match got under way.

The two stalked each other, Callisto easily dodging the first few strikes from Kelly before blocking the next and answering with a forearm smash then whipped her toward the ropes and hit K2 with a high knee. The newcomer circled the dazed champion, conceited smirk affixed on her features as she waited for her to get up. Slowly getting to her feet Kelly eyed her opponent and her eyes narrowed, _bitch_. She charged, catching Callisto in a tackle; going with the momentum she allowed the blond to take her down to the canvas and worked her legs between them before pushing her off in a monkey flip, holding onto her wrists to make sure her back ate the impact. Dragging her upright Callisto hurled her toward the furtherest turn-buckle and backed up to the one opposite, exploding out of it with a handspring back elbow. Crumpling to the canvas for the third time Kelly curled up on the mat, she had never taken so many stiff shots in succession before. It was clear that the brunette meant business.

Callisto looked down on the barely motionless form, a sadistic air radiating from her. Grasping an ankle she pulled the leg high into the air before crashing it down harshly, causing the champion to cry out in pain and try to crawl away. Even with the crowd behind her it was painfully obvious, she was outclassed and outmatched. Deciding she had gotten her point across for the time being Callisto halted the crawling woman's progress and got her to her feet for the final time and looked pointedly at Wade. Hoisting the woman on top of her shoulders she threw her down with an authoritative Wasteland and covered her for the pin. The match was clearly over.

Before she stood up she got in Kelly's face so only the two of them could hear what she said, "I know you've been trying to get into Stu's pants. You ever try it again and this will seem like a nice stroll in the park."

As Wade's music flooded the arena John slid into the ring to check on Kelly while Callisto casually leaned back up against the nearest top rope and kicked off the mat, body flipping over them and feet landing on the apron before jumping off. Clearly impressed and approval by the Brit made abundantly clear Barrett raised her arm in victory as the two made their way up the ramp, taunting the couple in the ring along the way.

* * *

><p><em>And there we have it, I really am on a roll with this one!<em>

_Just to clarify, I have no personal problem with women who certain people in society like to call 'sluts'. I just needed a target for Imogen and Kelly Kelly put her hand up to take the bullet. As far as I'm concerned, so long as the guy (or gal if you swing that way) isn't in some sort of relationship (i.e. married etc.) then who the hell cares what goes on behind closed doors? A rather humorous definition I saw once was 'Slut: A woman with the morals of a man.' Accurate? You decide, I certainly think so though..._

_Peace!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Here's more of that skewering AU coming into effect, as I'm making Smackdown a live broadcast like Raw._

_Also a little competition, if any of you would care to indulge my random whims. I've been trying to think of a moniker for Imogen, but thus far my brain is being uncooperative. When I picked her ring name it was roughly based more on the character from _Xena:Warrior Princess _(I know, I'm aware I'm showing my age by saying that) instead of the actual Greek myth. So, any help with this would be greatly appreciated._

_Peace!_

* * *

><p><em>'I will break, into your thoughts;<br>With what's written on my heart.  
>I will BREAK!'<em>

Callisto smirked as Kelly Kelly glared up the ramp at the Tampa native, who was side by side with Beth and Natalya, clutching the back of her head as Flyleaf's 'I'm So Sick' sounded through the arena. The woman had just cost Eve a match against Niedhart, who was now the number one contender thanks to interference. While Kelly had been so focused on stopping Beth Phoenix from costing her friend the match the third woman had come through the crowd and hit Eve with the Wasteland then slid out of the ring, the ref busy with the two women on the outside to notice the attack. Outraged, the blond had gone after the brunette only to have Beth trip her up and gestured for Callisto to get back in the ring, throwing the champion in as well. Wearing the same sadistic grin from last week she wrestled the woman into a headlock before hitting K2 with a tornado DDT.

Grasping the Canadian's wrist she raised her arm in victory when they had reached the top of the stage. While she had no particular interest in officially joining the Pin-Up Strong duo, at least for the time being, Callisto had made it blatantly apparent which side of the fence she was on. If there was any way to stick it to everyone's favourite girl next door she was more than happy to do.

As the trio disappeared backstage Nattie turned to the other woman and embraced her. Imogen and Natalya had spent time together in their younger years wrestling in Japan, and being a few of the only western women competing at the time they had become friends while living in a foreign land. Like Stu, the Queen of Harts had often questioned why Imogen hadn't tried to make the jump from the Indies into the big leagues. "I thought you'd never get your butt in the WWE!"

"So did I, actually. Though I'm a little disappointed that they wouldn't let me use Megadeth for my entrance any more." Imogen said wistfully, though unable to wipe the smile off her face as the three of them set off down the hallway. "Looks like more than one person finally got their wish then?"

"Indeed." She chuckled, Nattie was more than happy at the possibility of causing havoc along side her old partner in crime. "I take it Stu is more than happy."

"You would be right." She then extended a hand toward Beth, "Imogen Campbell, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise." The Glamazon replied, "Nattie has told me a lot about you, made me curious enough to find some of your taped matches. I have to say, I'd love to get in the ring with you some time."

"Name the time and place, I'm game."

Beth grinned. It was nice to have another woman around who knew more than the basics and simply loved what she did for a living. "I'm holding you to that."

The past week or so had shown fairly quickly which of those were holding a grudge at Imogen's apparent skip of the development stage, the few who actually knew her from their Indy days and those who didn't really care either way. Now that the lines had been drawn she could be satisfied with this, most of the people who had a stick up their ass about it were those she wouldn't have associated with any way.

Being on Smackdown was nice, Imogen decided. Part of the big appeal was that there was no Shane McMahon to eye grope her whenever he got a chance, which to her chagrin was becoming increasingly more often and she had taken to sneaking around the arenas during both Raw and the house shows to avoid him. She had debated whether or not to say anything to Stu but decided not to, he had his hands full enough as it was chasing the championship with Wrestlemania mere weeks away and she didn't want to add to that. The pair of them had been pulling double duty on the WWE live shows seeing as until he won the title Stu was still technically a Smackdown superstar but was turning up every Monday to ruin John's night. With Imogen now bought into the mix it made sense that she appear on the shows beside him; especially since she was using his finisher... which Imogen had helped him come up with in the first place.

They reached the women's locker room and Beth push the door open, "So what are you doing after the show?"

She shrugged, "Not a great deal, probably just be heading back to the hotel and vegging out." Imogen handed Nattie her hairbrush when the Canadian waved for it and then sat down on one of the benches. "Besides, Star Trek will be on tonight."

"_Star Trek?_"

Barbie had come in and laughed at the idea that anyone aside from high school geeks would actually watch the show. "You collect comics and read bad fan fiction to?" She sneered, "No, wait. You probably write it, don't you?"

Imogen just rolled her eyes, it wasn't the first time that she had caught flak for enjoying the show so she wasn't overly phased by it. Ignoring Blank to the point where it was like the champion didn't even exist, she continued her conversation with the Divas of Doom. "Why, was there something you wanted to do tonight?"

"Going to grab a few drinks a a club not to far from the hotel with a few of the others." Beth replied, then shot an annoyed look over to the other three women they were forced to share the locker room with.

"Don't be stupid, Kocianski, there's no way a loser Trekkie can miss their shows!" Blank cut in, earning a snicker from her two side kicks, Eve and Victoria Crawford, the woman known as Alicia Fox. "It's taint amount to heresy, isn't it?"

"Any more incredibly clichéd and overused one liners? Because I'd like to get them all out of the way now, if you don't mind." Imogen said casually, "Or is that all that the combined mental power of Charlie's Angels rejects can come up with?" He own retort attained a stifled giggle from Nattie and Beth. "If you want to start an insult war with me, here's some advice. Don't; I'll bury you. Just like I can you're severely limited ring 'skills'."

She smirked as Barbie's beautiful features twisted into an ugly scowl. "There's a reason I'm champion you know." She spat vehemently.

"You sucked McMahon off in return for that ugly oversized belt buckle?" Even Natalya and Beth were a little taken aback by the crude question, though Nat could quite hide her ghosting grin. The woman she knew all those years a go hadn't changed at all.

For the second time in just as many weeks Barbie let loose with a shriek and went on the attack. With an almost bored look Imogen easily dodged her and grabbed her arm, twisting it until she had the woman in am arm lock. "Come on, Blank, we went down this road last week and this is the last freebie I'm letting you have." Imogen stated calmly, applying slightly more pressure to get her point across. "You take a swing at me again outside of a match and I'll slap you so hard It'll feel like you've kissed a freight train." Abruptly she let the blond go and brusquely shoved her toward her friends, then turned to her own after checking the time. "I'll catch up with you guys after the show, I've gotta go find Stu. He should be on in a few minutes."

Making her way back to the Gorilla position she smiled at Stu who was already there. "Nice to see you could make it."

"Sorry, was having fun with the girls."

He shot her a suspicious glance; he knew that look, as well as the tone, "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Imogen cried, trying her best to look innocent. "Why must you always suspect me of being up to something when I'm having fun?"

"Well it would probably help your case if it didn't look like you had helped yourself to the cookie jar." She went to refute the rebuttal but came up with nothing. He chuckled as his music began to play, "Come on, love, we have an audience to rile up."

Wade Barrett strolled casually down toward the ring with a sultry Callisto by his side, holding out his hand for her as she climbed the steps onto the apron and parted the ropes for him. "I'd say it's nice to be back in Milwaukee, but as I look around into this sea of drunken slobs that are here tonight it's clearly the opposite." He announced with disdain, thoroughly enjoying the reaction he got from the beer capitol of the world. He continued in this vein for another minute or two before approaching the reason he was out there in the first place.

"Thanks to the beautiful Miss Callisto; who's services I've decided to retain after her show of complete dominance over that boring little beach bunny, Kelly Kelly, last week," Wade paused, making a point to admire his companion before continuing. "many of you have been wondering what sort of match I've decided on. So, being the benevolent human being I am, I'll tell you. It's not enough for me to simply beat John Cena at Wrestlemania. No, I want to hurt him to the point where he's begging me to stop. I am going to beat him so bad until I hear him utter two tiny words.

"I. Quit."

* * *

><p>The weekend passed by quickly, but it had been nice to spend the Friday night with both old friends and new instead of watching TV. Now it was Monday morning and the Raw roster were walking through the airport at four am, ignoring the 'fans' that seemed to follow them in hopes of getting autographs to sell on ebay and Craigslist. The heavy duty travel schedule was something Imogen was having trouble adapting to. In the past two weeks she had probably travelled more than she had in the past month at least. If it hadn't been for Stu guiding her by the hand she'd wager she probably would have ended up running into a wall; the woman had never been so tired in a long time. "Who's bright idea was it to book the red eye? The show doesn't even start until tonight." Imogen grumbled, trying to suppress a yawn.<p>

"Not the most glamorous part of the job, but you'll get used to it." He reassured her, steering them away from lurking autograph hunters. The constant travel had bought one of her less charming traits to the fore that he had forgotten about. Without enough sleep Imogen had the potential to be the queen bitch of the universe as fast as someone could flick a switch. He sighed internally, reminding himself that he wanted this and had to deal that everything that came with it. Though to her credit, he reasoned, she had been doing her best to keep it on a leash.

Imogen was on the verge of stating like a five year old that she wanted to go home. She missed their bed and her pillow, the Florida sun that would stream through the windows and their neighbours cat, Mr Whiskers, who would come in occasionally and say good morning. Filing onto the waiting bus that would take them to the hotel with the other sleep deprived superstars as soon as they sat down she was about to pass out, using Stu's arm as a makeshift cushion, when the seat behind her was rudely kicked from behind. A guttural and very evil sounding growl emerged from the back of her throat.

"Oops. Sorry, Campbell." The voice sounded as tired as she felt, but it was at least sincere.

"Just be a bit more careful please, John." She replied grumpily, fighting the urge to irrationally bite his head off. It wasn't his fault they had all been shipped onto the same flight and she had to deal with Barbie and Eve in the seat on the opposite side of the isle making comments and being a pain in the ass in general.

The bus pulled away and John Cena settled back into the seat, though he found himself unable to drift off despite how tired he was. "Hey, Stu." He called quietly, knowing the Brit was in the same position. "Why an 'I Quit' match?"

"I had an idea, I'll explain it to you tonight." Stu yawned as he fought the urge to stretch, not wanting to wake the woman resting on his arm.

* * *

><p>"Miss Campbell, I'd like to see you in my office."<p>

Imogen looked at Stu with mild confusion who shrugged in reply and the pair got up, but Shane signalled for Stu to stay where he was. "In private."

On the outset she seemed calm enough, but in reality it felt like her stomach just took a swan-dive. Imogen followed the GM down the hall, casting a final look at the Englishman before disappearing around the corner. She had a bad feeling about this...

"Take a seat." Shane said with a wave of his hand toward an empty chair as he closed the door behind them.

"I'd rather stand, thank you." Imogen replied, wondering just what he was up to.

McMahon wasn't taking no for an answer though, "I insist." He watched as the newest Diva stiffly sat down in the chair, she was as tense as a drawn bow string. He smirked before he circled the desk and sat down; she was going to be hard to break, but the prize... "So I've been hearing rumours about certain... issues... with Miss Blank." He began, "Care to explain what's going on?"

Imogen swallowed, she really didn't want to be here with the boss, especially on her own. "Nothing really, just a little personality clash."

Shane's face became unreadable. Little did Imogen know just how dead on to the truth her remark in the Smackdown locker room had been. Shane had been enjoying the particular fruits of Barbie for some time and quite frankly had gotten bored. Natalya, while beautiful he deemed off limits; getting involved with one of the Harts seemed like way more trouble than it was worth. Beth wasn't his type and despite their annoying on-screen gold digger persona the Garcia sisters had somehow managed to escape his little games; a different sort of twin magic at work he surmised. Hence why as soon as he had seen her in Tampa Shane had almost salivated at the thought of a new toy to play with. He stood up and slowly circled the desk, stopping behind Imogen's chair, resting his hands on the back of it. He noticed the rise and fall of her chest, her breathing shallow, and licked his lips. "I've been wanting someone to give it credit to the Divas title again, you know." He said softly.

"Well give it to Nattie." Imogen said. If she could have crawled out of her skin to get away from him at that point she gladly would have.

"No, I want someone new." He was dangerously close to her now, mere inches away. Lightly his fingers traced up the exposed skin of her arm, "I can make that happen for you, if you like, so long as you did a little something for me in return. Bennett wouldn't have to even know about it."

Anger flashed through her fear, bolting out of the chair faster than he could have predicted and her hand flash across his cheek. Her skin wouldn't stop with the unpleasant crawling sensation. "I'm not one of your high priced whores, McMahon. Don't _ever_ touch me again."

He rubbed his cheek as she stalked toward the door, she packed on hell of a pop behind her swing. "Miss Campbell, tell Bennett I wish him luck in his match tonight." He smirked as she stalled for an instant before jerking the door open and slamming it behind her. This would indeed be a fun game...


	6. Chapter 6

Anthony blinked as Imogen stormed passed him without a word; wondering what had her so upset he gave chase. "Imi!" She whirled to face the Italian superstar and he could all but feel the anger rolling off her in waves, "What's the matter?"

"Shane fucking McMahon, that's what." Imogen spat, like the very words themselves held an unsavoury taste, then sighed at his look of confusion. Searching around to make sure no-one was with earshot she forced herself to calm down as best she could. "He had me go into his office on the pretence of wanting to find out why Blank and I have been butting heads, then proposed I do him a 'favour' and in return he'd give me the Divas championship; despite the fact they've been hanging it in front of Nattie for months."

He just knew from the start that something hadn't been quite on the level with Shane's contract offer, causing outrage to flare to life in Tony as a string of colourful Italian curses erupted from him. He had been teaching her a bit of the language over the past couple of years and while she didn't understand everything, she got enough to get the general idea of what he was saying. It was far from flattering. "What did you do?" He demanded hotly.

"I slapped the damn taste out of his mouth." She seethed, "Thinks I'm going to roll over like a call girl... He can go fuck himself." She took a few deep breaths and ran her fingers through her hair wondering what the hell she was going to do.

"Are you going to tell Bennett?"

Against better judgement she shook her head, "If Stu finds out it'll be shit storm of epic proportions. He's got to much to lose right now without having to worry about McMahon being the King size sleaze that he is."

"But Imi-"

"Tony, _please_, don't say anything to him. Stu's worked so hard to get his shot, I don't want him to blow it by finding out about this and taking matters into his own hands." Imogen looked at him with pleading eyes, "Promise me you wont say anything." She could see the conflict warring on her friend's face over wanting to respect her wishes and the primal male urge to protect the fairer sex from unwanted advancements. It made her feel terrible to have to put him in such a position, but felt as if she had little choice in the matter. "Please?"

A frustrated growl came from the back of Anthony's throat as he relented, "Alright, I wont say anything; _this time_." He finally replied. "If he keeps it up though I can't guarantee that I can keep my mouth shut. You shouldn't, and don't, have to put up with it, Imi. It's harassment."

"I know. You wont have to worry though, I can deal with this." The words sounded a lot more certain than she actually felt and to her credit Tony believed her. It was the first time in her career she didn't have a clear view on the game or the players involved; if she wanted to stay at least one step ahead she had to learn the rules fast.

"Come on, lets go get a coffee from catering. You certainly look like you could use one."

* * *

><p>"I have to say man, it's an awesome idea." John said as he looked across the table at his British on screen rival. They had just finished discussing the details of their Wrestlemania contest and why Stu had chosen it to be an 'I Quit' match. "The heat you should get from it will be great."<p>

"I have my moments." Stu grinned, looking rather pleased with himself as he leaned back in his chair. Glancing over the other side of catering he noticed Imogen, who was looking decidedly annoyed, with Tony as they helped themselves to a cup of coffee. He smiled when she spotted the pair and with a tug on Anthony's sleeve went over to join them. "Everything OK?"

"Hmm?" She looked slightly distracted for a moment as she stared intently from the dark caramel coloured brew to him, a small smile softening her features. "Nothing to worry about, just this crap that Barbie keeps pushing."

His brow arched slightly, knowing she wasn't telling him something. After five years together he was very adept at reading her moods. "Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all." She replied as she rolled her eyes, doing her best to come off as nonchalant as possible. "Relax, hon. Whatever McMahon wants to do to protect his precious Mattel toy of the moment I can handle."

"Mattel toy?" John chimed in quizzically, "I know I'm probably putting my head on the chopping block here, but isn't that a little harsh?"

"Hell no." Imogen chuckled, "She's a failed model who couldn't get her big break in what she wanted to do, now she's has a spot that so many other women I know deserve much more than she does." John felt a little offended by the statement but covered it well. While he had been a wrestling fan all of his life, this wasn't the first thing he had chased in the list of dream jobs. When his eyes caught those of the Florida native however she could tell what he was thinking. "I know what you're thinking, Cena, but believe it or not I do see a difference between someone like her and someone like you. Sure you're not the most technical guy on the roster, but neither was Steve Austin and he's the biggest name this industry has ever known. To hell what people say otherwise about the Hulkster. You actually give a shit about these fans at the end of the day. Your work for Make A Wish, for example, is only one of the things that proves that.

"The difference, my dear Bostonian, is that Blank doesn't. Sure she's got the basic fundamentals down and her rather mundane signature moves, but she doesn't give a shit about improving her technique as a wrestler at all. She doesn't care about the people out there who make this business what it is either. I was watching her the other day, when we were all about to leave that house show and she didn't even so much as bother to spare the fans, _her_ fans, out there a second glance. You, on the other hand, were one of if not the last guy to actually leave as you signed gear and posed for pics. This business, it's more than just a job, it's way of frikkin' life. _You_ get that."

He couldn't help but notice the pride, the passion and down right love Imogen had for wrestling and smiled. "This really is a hot topic with you, huh?"

"Well considering it's in my blood, my very bones, it's kind of hard to escape. Not that I'd want to anyway." She replied, "My grandfather was a wrestler, my mom one of the best valets and managers of her time and my dad even ran his own promotion for years. It's the family business. Hell, it's common family knowledge that I was even conceived in a wrestling ring." She shook her head but couldn't quite hide the slightly embarrassed smirk at the following 'to much information' stare, "Drunken Christmas stories, you can't escape them... Bottom line is I've practically lived this business since the day I was born and when I see people like Barbie who have it all handed to them then treat it the way she does..."

Stu and Anthony just sat back and watched the conversation unfold, it wasn't anything new to either of them as John continued to probe the opinions of the newest Diva. "So where does that leave those of us for who wrestling wasn't their first life long career choice?"

"I see where this is going. You want to know if I think I'm better than you." She reached out and patted his had reassuringly at his slightly awkward expression. "No, John, I don't. Have you looked at who I'm even dating?"

"Hey!" All three of them laughed at Stu's slightly delayed offended response at her small rib. "You are so paying for that remark later, woman."

"You promise?" His response was to simply scoff as Imogen allowed him to steal a sip of her drink before continuing to elaborate. "Anyway, I have no problem with people who started off as something else and finding out that this is the greatest thing in the world. The thing that matters most is that you constantly will yourself to improve, to raise the bar as high as you possibly can. _That_ is what makes all the difference; anyone who tires to tell you otherwise has less brainpower than a retarded goldfish."

John leaned back into his chair as he thought it over, his evaluation of the woman in front of him changing almost instantly. When he had first saw her for the first few days and witnessed her interaction with Barbie and her friends he began to think that she was a haughty bitch who thought she was better than the rest of the women's locker room. But as time had rolled on he had seen her more than willing to help Brianna and Stephanie Garcia out whenever they had the time and space to work on their ring work. Now he felt he understood; she didn't think she was better in the ring than most of the Divas, she knew it, but at the same time she loved to help those who wanted it to improve themselves. She wasn't egotistical, she was confident. She wasn't harsh, she was honest. You treated her with respect and civility, you'd get it in return. You run around with an attitude like Blank did, however...

John simply shook his head and chuckled, "Man, I am so glad I don't have those proverbial Twitter trending lady parts. If that's the way it goes down in the Divas division, I'll take the I quit match any day of the week."

* * *

><p>There was a meeting with creative over the direction of the Divas title and the budding rivalry that was developing between Kelly Kelly and Callisto; so Nattie, Beth and Imogen sat on one side of the room while Barbie, Eve and Victoria sat on the other. Imogen had to admit, what they had come up with actually sounded kinda fun. During the few weeks left leading to Wrestlemania Callisto was to become the biggest thorn in the champion's side, eventually causing her to lose the title to Natalya at Wrestlemania and her subsequent contract clause rematch. Kelly, knowing she wouldn't be able to get into the title hunt again unencumbered would have to face off against the new Sultry Seductress; who was out not only to destroy Kelly's hopes of ever holding the gold again, but everything else that the blond held dear. Including her flame, John Cena.<p>

Imogen wrinkled her nose up at the idea of 'seducing' John, considering creative hadn't really confirmed what sort of on screen relationship that she and Stu were supposed to have. What the couple had been working with so far was something akin to a valet/wrestler type roll with slight overtones of mutual sexual attraction between them. In short, taking a little of their actual relationship and playing it as if they actually were Wade Barrett and Callisto. For her to follow this angle that the writers wanted to do they would have to throw it out the window and find some other way to work together successfully. She sighed, just another day in the wrestling biz.

"Callisto and Johnny, sitting in a tree..." Beth teased after it was over and they were getting ready for the show, "K. I. S. S. I. N. G."

"Shut it, Phoenix." She shook her head, "I really wonder how dumb they think the fans actually are sometimes, to think Cena is going to fall for the whole 'seduction' angle."

"It's not about that." Beth replied, adjusting her headband. "I think they just want to see how far you can carry the heel persona."

"If you say so." Imogen said, not entirely convinced as she finished with the buckles on her boots. "But if I end up with chants of 'slut' heads are going to roll... or at the least be very bruised and sore." She slipped on a pair of studded leather wrist bands and looked over at her tag team partner for the night, "You ready?"

Straightening up Beth grinned, "Hell yes, lets go kick some Malibu Barbie asses!"

With a high five Raw's resident Dominant Divas strutted down the hall, ready to kick ass and take names, and there was nothing Barbie or Victoria could do to stop them.

* * *

><p><em>A little short, I know, but I just felt I needed to post something up so this fic doesn't run into the danger of stalling... plus I thought delving into Imogen's background a bit would be nice so you could all get a feel of who she is and where she's coming from. And going against type cast for myself by making John a good guy. I can't bash the man all the time, that gets tedious even for me. Plenty of in ring action next chapter though, I promise!<em>

_Peace!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Here we are. A little later than I would have liked it to be, but this was one of those stubborn chapters that refused to come to me easily. So if it reads a little flat I apologise beforehand, but you can't win 'em all. It's a case of I know where I want the story to go, it's just coming up with some of the events to get it there that are tripping me up. Never fear though, for I shall persevere! We will have an ending to this one and who knows, if the plot bunnies keep breeding maybe even a possible sequel..._

_For those of you that are interested- I have a couple of links on my profile that will give you a rough idea of what Imogen sort of looks like when I envision her in my head, along with a few more of my OC's from other stories. Not that it's vital to the story, but just in case any of you would like a visual for my little creations here._

_But for now my lovelies, enjoy the offering. Peace!_

* * *

><p>Beth Phoenix, Callisto and Natalya made their way down the ramp, completely ignoring the jeers from the crowd as they eyed off their opponents and not at all impressed with what they found. Both women jumped onto the apron and the Dominant Diva climbed the turn-buckle for her trademark pose as her partner did her own, again back leaning against the ropes then kicked off the apron, the Sultry Seductress landing on her feet inside the ring with almost cat like grace. Nattie settled in on their side of the ring, all the while her attention was focused on Eve, who had accompanied the champion and her partner to ringside. The ref visibly swallowed at the smouldering look in Callisto's eye before she winked at him then took her place on the apron as Beth started things off against Alicia Fox.<p>

The bored expression an Beth's tag partner was evident as the Dominant Diva easily kept the momentum in their favour over the Vivacious Vixen. Callisto settled for staring at the blond on the opposite side of the ring, knowing that the gaze of evil intentions was unsettling her, causing the brunette to smirk wolfishly as Alicia's cries of pain carried around the ring. After delivering a few chops Beth whipped the smaller woman into the ropes and hitting her with a sit out power-bomb. Standing up she taunted the crowd, smirking as she allowed Alicia to crawl along the canvas toward her partner before grabbing her by the ankle and dragging her back to Beth's corner and propped her up on the turn-buckles. Making the tag the pair ignored the ref who opposed the double teaming, then started his five count. Tagging the brunette in Callisto climbed in the ring and both of them whipped Fox toward the ropes and executing a textbook double team flapjack. Callisto made a half hearted pin attempt, breaking it herself at the two count; it wasn't Alicia she wanted after all, it was Kelly Kelly she wanted to punish. Pulling Alicia to her feet yet again she sent her crashing into her own corner, challenging K2 to make the tag.

Kelly took it, though the slight hesitation didn't go unnoticed by her opponent, that now trademark smirk of sadism appearing on her face; it was almost like a shark scenting blood in the water. The two women circled each other before locking up, being the bigger of the two Callisto forced Kelly back in a corner before driving her shoulder into her stomach a few times to soften her up. Taking a few paces back Callisto charged at her but received an elbow to the head, breaking the momentum. Grabbing a handful of hair Kelly pulled back as hard as she could, slamming the back of Cal's head on the canvas. Sitting on top of the brunette she proceeded to choke the daylights out of her, breaking it off as the ref reached a four count. Dragging her to her feet, K2 attempted a DDT only to have it blocked and countered into a snap suplex quickly followed by a second. Casting a glance at Eve she sneered, mocking the woman as she stole her signature moonsault to use on her friend. Making a second pin attempt the Seductress was mildly surprised that the champion actually had enough fight to willingly kick out of the predicament.

Ego would get the better of the newest Diva however, spending just a little to much time making fun of her opponent Kelly had recovered faster than she had anticipated. With a desperate kick she knocked the other back, following it up with a few more stiff shots. Grabbing fist fulls of Callisto's thick hair Kelly shrieked with the effort as she tossed her by the locks, smirking as she landed with a satisfactory thump on the mat. Taking a run at the ropes the champion jumped, nailing her rival with a low dropkick to the shoulder before climbing on her back and taking her by the wrists pulled back on her arms.

Callisto could hear the ref asking her if she wanted to submit as she fought against the hold, adamantly telling him no. The hold was a stalemate, Kelly having to much leverage for Callisto to break out of it but she couldn't match the other woman's strength to pull her arms back even further to apply more pressure. It was then the interference started, Nattie jumping up on the apron to successfully distract the referee and began arguing with him, giving Beth enough time to climb in and nail Kelly with a soccer kick to the small of her back. Eve, not to be outdone by the Canadian, stormed around to the far side of the ring and grabbed a hold of her ankle but ended up with a boot to the face, jumping off the apron Niedhart went on the attack.

Alicia came in to try and make the save for Kelly only to get caught in a vicious spear from Callisto, almost folding the woman in half. Rolling out of the ring Beth looked at the ref, who was in the middle of argumentatively evicting both Nat and Eve from ringside and quickly tossed a chair to her partner. With Kelly coming to and just a precious second or two left Callisto slapped the canvas with the object before throwing it at the champion, who caught it out of instinct and collapsed to the mat. With his attention finally back on the task at hand Jack Doan looked at a surprised Kelly, the chair in her hands and the downed woman in the ring clutching at her head. Easily being lead to the conclusion the devious Divas wanted he disqualified the protesting champion and called for the bell. Beth slid back in the ring and offered a hand to her partner, helping Callisto to her feet before both women looked over at the still arguing Kelly, a knowing smirk passing between them.

As she slowly came to the realisation of what was going on, the Divas champ found herself flanked on either side, raising the chair up in defence as Callisto feinted suddenly from the left only to have it snatched out of her grasp by the Glamazon behind her. The former champion drove it into K2's stomach then was spun around to face Cal once again who grasped her in a head lock as she pointed behind her partner; Alicia had gathered her wits and was making an attempt to save her friend, her reward a stomach full of steel. Laying the chair on the mat in front of Callisto, Beth then kept the ref at bay; intimidating the hell out of him as her partner gave Kelly a knee for good measure and hoisted her about over shoulders, bringing her down onto the object with yet another Wasteland.

The job done and Flyleaf sounding throughout the arena Beth and Callisto started up the ramp with Nattie reappearing to join them in their mockery of the women they had left devastated in the ring.

* * *

><p>"There's been a last minute change to your bout, Bennett" A runner said as he raced up to the Englishman, who was talking with Stephen Farrelly, AKA Shaemus, and who was supposed to be his opponent tonight. "You'll be in a Hardcore match, with Orton."<p>

"Orton?" He repeated, the name coming out in contempt, "What the hell for?"

The runner simply shrugged, "Sorry, Bennett. I don't make the matches, I just tell you what they are."

"Someone is out to get you, fella." The Irishman joked, earning himself a dirty look from the Brit.

It was no secret backstage that Stu and Randy didn't like each other; the whole thing stemming from when he had first started his 'Barrett Barrage' and Randy, wanting to go after the title for himself, fought the decision for them to feud with him coming out as the loser, putting Bennett over as a major singles contender and solidify him as a top heel. In fact it was quite safe to say that they absolutely detested one another. He shook his head and sighed, it was going to be a rough night. "I still win though, right?"

The messenger started to look a little uncomfortable, he didn't like being the bearer of bad news, especially when it involved superstars that hated each other as much as Stu and Randy. "Uhh, no."

"No?" Stu said irritably, "Why not?"

"Sorry man, you wanna know you're going to have to ask Shane. He made the changes." With that the messenger was off to finish his job, leaving Stu and Stephen to stare after him.

"What. The. Hell?" Stu said slowly, "The whole point of the next few weeks is to give me momentum going into Wrestlemania."

"Could be worse." Farrelly quipped, "They could decide to not give you the belt entirely."

Stu growled, "That isn't funny."

Stephen simply slapped him on the back, "You worry to much, English. You'll be fine." He seemed to consider something for a moment before adding, "Though if I were you, I'd leave me woman backstage for this one. You know how Orton can get when he's in there with you."

Stu hated to admit it but he was right. For her own sake Imogen was staying backstage for this one.

* * *

><p>Wade knew this was going to be a tough match but even then he hadn't counted on the Viper being extra brutal tonight. Bringing up his arms he shielded his head as best he could as Randy slammed it down onto one of the large transport crates that lined the hallway backstage. The match hadn't lasted long in the ring before spilling to the outside, the two men throwing each other up the steel ramp and through the curtain, sending techs and fellow superstars scrambling to get out of the way as they brawled. The back of his head was killing him; they had battled through the arena's kitchen and Orton had found half a dozen of the dreaded industrial size cookie sheets, smacking them so hard over his opponent's head that they all had huge dents and were never to see the inside of an oven again.<p>

Catching the Apex Predator with a heavy elbow Wade charged, driving his shoulder into Orton's sternum and slamming him through the door into the parking lot. Getting in a few heavy handed shots he then whipped the Viper into a steel railing, following him up with intentions of a clothesline to push him over onto the concrete. Randy was ready though and dodge at the last second, sending Wade crashing through the gap and hit the unforgiving floor hard. Dazed and out of it Randy then spotted a nearby hose, testing the nozzle and smirked. Aiming for the Englishman he turned it on full force, the smooth cement underfoot becoming slippery and treacherous, making it difficult for Wade to get to his feet. When he had gotten bored of hosing his opponent down he wrapped it around Barrett's throat and started choking him with it, the Brit desperately clawing at him before Orton relented. Slipping around they both managed to once again find their footing before Randy hurled Wade into a nearby car. The panelling bowed and dented under their combined weight as Orton continued to bash and exhausted Wade into the auto-mobile, windows spider-webbed before breaking completely under the onslaught. Wet bodies slipped over the metal as Randy managed to get Wade on the roof, then finished both him and the match with a thunderous RKO.

Randy smirked at his handy work, rather pleased with the result and turned to leave. He spotted the new Raw Diva by the door and his arrogant countenance grew, the sneer growing as he approached to pass her. "Shane sends his regards." He said, loud enough so only she could hear before heading to the locker room. He didn't know what she had done, nor did he really care, all he knew was the it had been enough for McMahon to want him to hurt Bennett and if at all possible let the woman know she was the reason for it.

When he was gone and the cameras stopped rolling Imogen hurried over to where Stu still lay on the destroyed roof of the black sedan. "Oh, Stu." She whispered, seeing he was still out cold and preyed to god that he wouldn't end up any serious injuries. "I'm sorry, it's all my fault." She reached out and lightly touched his arm, watched as his green eyes slowly opened and swam in a groggy haze of pain before moving out of the trainer's way.

* * *

><p>Stu's body was making it's displeasure from it's heavy handed manhandling at the hands of Randy Orton abundantly clear as he slowly stretched out onto the hotel bed and closed his eyes. While he and Orton had never gotten along most of the time they were professional enough to keep it somewhat civil in the ring most of the time; yet for some unbeknown reason the Viper felt like making tonight a lot tougher than it had to be, even with hardcore rules in place. His only consolation was that Bennett had readily given as good as he got, so Randy probably wasn't feeling much better than he was. When a weight straddled his hips he groaned in contentment a minute later as warm fingers kneaded at his aching back and smirked to himself. Perhaps getting beaten like that wasn't without it's advantages, at least now that he had Imogen with him. "If you keep it up I just may have to forgive that crack you made at my expense in catering today."<p>

She smirked above him as he all but turned into putty under her hands as Imogen worked out all the aches a sores from his muscles, working her way slowly down his back. "Not only will you forgive me for it, you'll completely forget about it by the time I'm done."

"Is that so?" Stu replied, "That sounds an awful lot like a challenge, my dear."

"Maybe it is... maybe it isn't. Besides, if there is one man on this earth who decided to change his life plans and try wrestling, I'm glad it was you." As silence settled in on them she admitted to herself that despite McMahon and his less than subtle come ons and her initial hesitation, she was glad she had taken the contract. She hadn't spent this much time with Stu in months and it was almost like the small things that one could sometimes forget were being rediscovered. Though watching him get slammed like Randy had done to him tonight was a little hard to swallow when she saw it all up close and personal. She loved the warmth of his skin under her fingers, feeling his body completely relax as the tension eased away. When she was finally done Imogen leaned forward and placed a kiss at the top of his spine, just above his shoulder blades. "I love you." When she got no response Imogen looked closer, he had actually fallen asleep.

Carefully she eased off the bed, not wanting to wake him up as she picked up her cell, wallet and hotel key. Despite it being almost midnight she was wide awake, so decided to see if the hotel's bar was still open. Small breaks, at least, were still in her favour as she crossed the lobby and entered the softy lit lounge. Taking a seat at the far end the bartender approached his only customer. "Scotch on the rocks, please." Ice clinked in the heavy glass and cracked as the eighteen years old Chivas Regal splashed over the cubes. Sensing that the woman wasn't really in the mood for conversation the barman wandered off and busied himself polishing the glasses at the other end of the bar.

As she sipped at the rare indulgence of strong alcohol, Imogen replayed the events of the day over in her head and how the impact of her flatly refusing the Boy Wonder's 'offer' was going to impact Stu. It was a known fact backstage that Randy and Stu didn't get along at all, it's what made their on screen rivalry so good to watch; neither man bothered to hide his disdain for the other when the cameras were rolling. So when Shane had sprung the impromptu Hardcore match between them tonight she knew the Apex Predator would have been more than happy to oblige and really stick the boots in. Like his exclamation point tonight by hitting Stu with the RKO on top of the car and had actually knocked the Brit out for a minute or two. She sighed softly, feeling stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. If she kept it to herself she just knew that it would more than likely get worse, with the result being Shane taking his rejection out on her man. On the other hand if she told Stu that McMahon had propositioned her he would more than likely want to have 'words' with him. Maybe she would have a chat with Brie and Steph when she could, see if they could give her any hints on how to avoid the slime.

Imogen grimaced to herself; this demure, almost submissive attitude involving the Boy Wonder that had suddenly sprung up was so unlike her. If it had been any other man at all she would have no problems not only putting him in his place but would do it so the whole world would see it for that added insult to injury. Maybe it was because things had been moving so rapidly lately it had thrown her a little off her game, but whatever it was Imogen was determined to get back on track and not take any crap from McMahon, new boss or not.

"Excuse me, miss." The bartender broke into her thoughts, "I have to close up in a few minutes."

Imogen nodded, drained the remnants of the glass then placed a few notes on the bar and left. Worrying about it now wasn't going to help in any event and was determined not to let McMahon Junior ruin the experience that was working for the WWE. Returning to the room she locked the door behind her and smiled softly as she studied Stu's sleeping form. Sliding under the covers next to him he automatically wrapped a muscular arm around her, pulling her closer and his face buried itself in the crook of her neck. "I love you to." He whispered and she could feel his smirk on her skin.

"You sneak."

"Shh, sleeping time now." Imogen snuggled closer into his enveloping embrace, troubles and thoughts denied, both asleep in minutes.


	8. Chapter 8

_We seem to be entering that awkward stage of the story where my imagination refuses to co-operate and I have to beat it with a lead pipe and throw bricks at it, so updates may slow down while my muses and I duke it out. I'll try and bludgeon it into submission ASAP but I can't make any promises._

_Enjoy the offering, my lovelies. Peace!_

* * *

><p>It was a week before Wrestlemania and the show was in Virginia Beach, the wrestlers arriving in town early that morning. The rivalry between Callisto and Kelly Kelly was fast becoming as heated as that between Barrett and Cena; each week Callisto becoming more insidious and underhanded toward the Divas champion. But despite how things were going in front of the cameras, all was not quiet on the home front. Stu knew that something was bothering Imogen, but try as he might he couldn't get it out of her. She kept insisting that nothing was wrong, though the slow repression of her usual fiery nature had become more and more evident to the contrary. Whenever he bought it up she simply said it was the work load and travel, which was true to a certain point. While she made time for whatever fans that approached her when she wasn't busy, there were instances when it was painfully obvious that Imogen would like to be left alone -hiding behind a book, comic or Nintendo 3DS with ear phones drowning out the world were prime indicators- and people would come up to the Diva anyway; one or two going so far as to actually pull the ear buds out. This, of course, resulted in a tirade that even Phil might have thought twice about starting on... though only a little. Then said incidents would make their way onto the internet's 'dirt sheets' and get blown out of proportion even further.<p>

Shane, for some reason, had been insistent on putting more pressure on the pair of them too; sending them off to signings, appearances and a whole manner of other promotional events to try and off set the bad publicity. In the ring was becoming just as intense as well, as on screen Wade seemed to be undergoing some sort of trial by fire with the matches he had been thrown into since the hardcore match with Orton. Though his momentum hadn't been put on a slide like had originally thought. By this point it came abundantly clear to Stu that it wasn't that Imogen disliked Shane, she absolutely despised him.

Through no small amount of effort Imogen had at least some success in evading the Raw GM thanks to both Anthony and the Garcia sisters, whom she had finally confided her problem with after one of their usual training sessions, though it hadn't stopped the leering looks and hungry stares. With each invasion of her personal space she kept telling herself would be the last time and she would tell Stu, but Shane seemed to be very adept at reading the people around him and had ways of sending his own messages. For her it was having to watch her man going through one gruelling match or another, the unspoken message coming across clear, if he could do this on a whim, it would be easy for him to have Stu sidelined. Why he couldn't just get the hint and leave her alone was beyond her comprehension, there were undoubtedly plenty of other women out there who were more than willing to give McMahon what he wanted, so why was he so hell bent on trying to get it from her? Was this the way his father used to run the company? She hoped not, the idea that this was some sort of perverted family tradition made her sick to her stomach.

What had started out as a good idea was slowly turning into a ordeal, the couple had started to have an increasing amount of stress induced arguments as of late. She was becoming more insular as a result of the constant unwanted attention and that in turn was frustrating Stu, who would keep on her case until she ended up snapping at him. His own temper would come into play and eventually they ended up going back and forth with one of them storming out and not returning for a few hours at least.

As he looked out the small window next to his seat on the plane coming in for landing he repressed the urge to sigh before looking over at his woman next to him buried in an old, well loved copy of James Clavell's _Shogun_, a pair of reading glasses balanced near the end of her nose. What they needed was some time to themselves he decided, even if was just for a few hours -no work, no fans, no one else- just the two of them. Today he was going to make sure they did exactly that, before Shane got any other spur of the moment ideas to throw either one of them into.

* * *

><p>The scent of salt water drifted on the gentle breeze and the waves rolled in as Stu watched a figure carve up the surf. He prided himself on this definitely being one of his better ideas to surprise Imogen with a trip to the beach; growing up with the ocean a mere stone's throw from home, the Tampa bred woman's love for surfing almost rivalled her passion for wrestling. This was definitely what both of them had needed, just a little precious time to unwind and relax, Stu was more than happy to simply laze about and chill; dividing his time between watching Imogen and reading a magazine under the shade from a large beach umbrella. Idly he checked his watch to make sure they wouldn't be late returning to the hotel, she had been out on the waves for well over an hour now. He grinned when he turned back in time to see her lose control of the board and wipe out, then surface a few seconds later before finally deciding to come back to shore. While there were other people dotting the sand, he was grateful it wasn't overcrowded and if there had been any fans about either didn't recognise them or were courteous enough to keep their distance.<p>

He looked up as she intentionally stood in his sunlight; the beading water glistening as it ran down her toned body in rivulets, the pony tail of long brown hair plastered itself over her right shoulder and blue eyes sparkled. While enjoying the view Stu kept his cool as he peered over the rim of his sunglasses. "Yes dear?"

"Are you planning to just sit here all day?" Imogen asked, setting the surf board into the sand and pulled off the velcro strap that secured it to her ankle. He simply shrugged. "What's the matter?" She began, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Getting to old to play in the sea?"

"Old?" He growled with mock offence, sliding the eye wear off. "I'll show you old, wench." He got to his feet and made a grab for her, missing by inches as Imogen danced out of reach and ran for the water, laughing. For a few minutes the game of cat and mouse played out in the shallow surf, her flexibility verses his reach, until he finally managed to catch her. His world went into a quick spin and hit the water with a splash when she used his own momentum against him for a quick throw. Though before she could get away he grabbed one of her ankles and pulled, causing her to fall down next to him with a squeal. Stu then proceeded to inflict some tickle torture before she finally pleaded for mercy between fits of shrieking giggles. Standing up he offered her his hand to help her up which she took before trying to throw him back into the water again, but this time he had been ready and stayed on his feet. Using his strength it was easy for him to lift her up and into his arms, then kissed her as he waded in deeper and threw her in with a cunning smirk.

"Ok ok, I take it back, babe." Imogen relented when she surfaced. "You're not old." She took his offered hand once more and with fingers interlaced they headed back. "We should skip the show." She announced as they began to pack up their things. "Whip up some sort of elaborate Homer Simpson-esque fake death to cover ourselves."

"If you spend any more time in the water you'll end up with a tail and I'll have to call you Ariel." He pointed out as they reached the fresh water showers to wash the sand that had stuck to them. "And mermaids have only half of the lady parts." His reward for the crass remark was a playful slap on the arm. After dropping off the rented board and umbrella the couple strolled back to the hotel, which was only a thirty minute walk from where they had been, unaware of the hungry eyes that stalked the Raw Diva through a set of binoculars.

Through the high powered lenses Shane McMahon stared lecherously at Imogen's tits and ass, hidden as they were behind the bright blue and silver lycra of her boy shorts and bikini top that the slightly damp white mid riff top clung to. His breathing becoming fast and ragged as his imagination ran wild. His free hand came to rest on the back of the head that was buried between his legs, fingers fisted the thick locks and took control of the pace which became aggressive, making the woman gag on his erection as he forced it down her throat. Within another minute his body shuddered with a groan, hips twitching compulsively.

When she felt McMahon let go of the back of her head Barbie stared up at him, her anger growing when she saw that he still hadn't put down the binoculars. She didn't mind getting a little rough once in a while, but Shane had seemed to completely disregard her as he had chased his release, not even giving her warning when he came. Snatching the spy glasses from him she gazed out onto the street below in the direction he had been looking, catching the unmistakable tattoo that resided on Bennett's left arm and the woman who was next to him. Taken aback she threw the binoculars back at her boss in disgust, realising what must have been running through his head as she blew him off. "You're _sick_."

He smirked as Barbie turned to leave, speaking up only when she had almost reached the door. "How much of a toll do you think you're 'Mania match will take out of you, Barbie?" He asked casually. Her hand hovered inches above the knob, the veiled threat making her tremble. She had seen what happened to people who pissed him off, like when he sent Orton after Bennett a few weeks a go. Not for the first time, she wished she had never taken McMahon up on his 'offer'. Slowly she pulled her hand away from the door as she fought back the urge to cry when he spoke again, hearing as he got out of the chair. "Now get back over here." Head down she did as she was told, her long blond hair falling across her face, stopping when she was only a step or two away as Shane casually worked himself back to full hardness again. "Good girl, bend over."

* * *

><p>Barbie watched as Stephanie Garcia chatted away with Imogen, occasional hand gestures animating their conversation and scowled as jealousy reared it's head full force, the green eyes of envy baleful as they tried to drill a hole through the brunette. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, Blank knew that Imogen was just as beautiful as any of the other Divas on the roster and to add that extra insult to injury had never gone under the knife once. Hell she never even got the small, fine scar that ran just above and through the end of her right eyebrow fixed; she even actually <em>liked<em> it, like it was a trophy or something. What the hell was it that the Tampa bitch had that made the majority of people take a liking to her? What was it that Stu saw in her, apart from the obvious physical attributes?

The thought of never hooking up with the Englishman ate away at Barbie, ever since she had seen the man she had wanted him. Not just as a one time fling, but as an actual partner. What had started off as a little crush had soon developed into a fully fledged one sided love affair and she had been carrying a torch for him ever since. But every time she had made a move on him the Brit had shot her down; politely at first but grew weary with it when she became tenacious in chasing him, despite the fact that he had made it clear that he was already spoken for. Imogen's warning her first night had made it crystal clear; Stu was hers and any woman who wanted to take the shot would have to go through formidable wrestler first, which would be one hell of a fight to say the least.

The only thing that Barbie felt she had left at the moment was the title and even that wasn't going to last, come Wrestlemania she was to drop it to Nattie. Realistically she knew it would eventually happen but an irrational part of her blamed the newcomer for this as well. In Barbie's mind Imogen had taken the man she wanted, ended her title run and even the 'special treatment' she had gotten from Shane since accepting his offer was on thin ice. To think back on it a part of her was ashamed for the move but the motivation of gold around her waist, magazine cover opportunities coming left and right and fiscal independence for years to come to top it all off had been to much to resist. She had taken the fast track to success instead of working hard and all it took to expose the exact limitation of her ability had been blown out of the water; Campbell coming out guns blazing that first night as well and taking every opportunity ever since to display it even more. She saw the signs of obsession starting to overcome McMahon, the whole thing in the hotel room that morning was extremely creepy at best.

Again the anger and jealousy flared in the blond as she watched Bennett come up behind her rival, his strong arms loosely encircling her waist, wishing it was her that he held like that. Turning on her heel she stalked down the hallway, unseen by the trio she had been watching, deciding that whatever was coming for Campbell from McMahon she deserved it...

* * *

><p><em>Trying to play around with K2's character here, so she (hopefully) comes across as more than the typical clichéd and overused stereotype of the self serving bitch. Not sure if I've hit the mark or not, but I get points for at least trying it, yes?<em>


	9. Chapter 9

_Stu rubbed his eyes, it had been a long day as they had gone over every single thing he could possibly remember and he was starting to get tired. "Any chance I could get something to drink if we're going to be here all night?" He asked, doing his best to be as calm as he could and refrain from letting the irritability creep into his tone. "Coffee if you have it would be great."_

_The senior detective turned and nodded towards his younger partner, so far it seemed as if the Englishman had calmed down for the moment. If they all kept it civil this would hopefully go as smooth as it possibly could. "So when did you actually find out about McMahon's harassment?"_

_The wrestler stifled a yawn behind his hand and stretched a little as he tried to contain his restlessness. He just wanted to leave, he had far more important places to be right now. "The night of Wrestlemania, just after the show." he replied, "She ended up embarrassing him in front of a fair few people to." The younger detective returned, placing a Styrofoam cup in front of the Englishman and another next to his partner before putting a bunch of sugar sachets in between them and retaking his spot in the room. After putting in enough sugar so it was to his liking he tasted it. It wasn't great coffee but it wasn't the worst either._

"_Were you there when it happened?"_

"_No." Stu replied with a shake of his head, "But word travels pretty fast along the backstage grapevine, so you could bet a year's worth of pay cheques that just about everyone working that night knew about it in about half an hour."_

"_So what happened that day?"_

"_Well, it all started going into motion when Phil arrived at the arena after a signing that had been scheduled earlier that morning..."_

* * *

><p>The week before Wrestlemania had passed like a whirlwind, Smackdown bringing everything to an almost fever pitch. It had been years since there had been such energy rippling through the crowd, the World Heavyweight championship -which was to be the main event for the night- was to be decided in a very rare 'Thunderdome' match, which takes place in a ring surrounded by a 30 foot cage. The cage has no roof but curves inwards at the top to prevent escape and the area near the top of the cage is also electrified. The only way to win is when one competitor's "Terminator", usually a manager who stands outside of the ring, throws in the towel. Mick Foley had agreed to be Punk's Terminator and Bob Orton had taken on the role for his son, Randy. Imogen shook her head, Phil must have really dug deep through the years to find that one in the WWE's massive archives since absorbing WCW and ECW years a go. The first one had been at WCW's Halloween Havoc in 1989 between the team of Ric Flair and Sting against Terry Funk and the Great Muta.<p>

As if on cue the man in question rounded the corner with ear phones firmly in place and bag slung casually over one shoulder. He looked up and grinned when he noticed her milling about, flicking through a comic she had picked up earlier this morning. While nowhere near as big of a comic fan as he was, she had slowly been reading more and more while being on the road; they were easy to get and a few were usually just enough to kill down time issues before the show started. The X-Men and Deadpool had been her books of choice closely followed by Batman and the Avengers, she was already toying with the idea of getting a small tattoo of either Gambit or Wolverine. The smirk on his face became mischievous when it became apparent Imogen hadn't noticed his arrival. Carefully placing his bag on the floor as to not make any noise Phil crept up behind his unknowing friend, then went in for a playful bear hug with intentions to lift the Tampa girl off her feet.

What he wasn't expecting was the knee jerk reaction of an elbow to the gut.

Punkster? Shit, I'm so sorry!" Imogen exclaimed when she spun around, the agitation on her features turning to surprise to see one of her besties bent over and groaning. "I thought you were... never mind. Are you ok?"

"Sure, I'm just doubled over for the hell of it." He grumbled somewhat sarcastically, "What the hell, Cal? Who the hell did you think I was, Ted Bundy?" Straightening up the surreptitious glance from her didn't go unnoticed, causing him to cock an inquisitive brow. He had heard enough from Stu while they were on Smackdown to know that this was not becoming of the same woman he had known for ten years, and decided he was going to drag it out of her whether she liked it or not. "Out with it, what's going on? Don't try and feed me that 'nothing' bullshit either, we've known each other way to long for that."

It was the thing she both loved and hated about Phil Brooks, he was almost always blunt and to the point. Legs spread shoulder width apart and heavily tattooed arms crossing his chest with that expectant look in his dark brown eyes she knew she wasn't going anywhere. With a heavy sigh Imogen picked up the comic she had dropped then sat on a nearby storage trunk. To be honest she was getting tired of the whole thing, having decided that the next pass that Shane would make it would be the last and he would be introduced to a classic Campbell tirade full force. No matter who was about. What was the worst he could do, fire her? "It's McMahon Junior." Imogen answered, "Almost since the minute I walked through the door on Raw the slimy bastard has been trying to get me to fuck him."

Punk was pissed as Imogen went through everything from the stares to cornering her in not only his office but anywhere else he could get away with; though he had managed to keep his hands to himself after she popped him the first time. Then there was the whole inner confliction over what she should do, Shane hadn't been making things easy by treating Stu the way he had in the ring lately. When she finished he didn't say anything for a moment as he looked at her, there definitely seemed to be something missing, almost like that spark she possessed had dwindled dramatically. His hand came to rest on her shoulder then slowly pulled her in for a hug and she responded in kind, feeling him rest his chin on the top of her head. "So what happens now?"

Imogen pulled away to look up at him, "If he tries it again I'm going to explode on his ass and rip him a new one. I'm so sick and tired of this crap, quite frankly I could care less if he fired me at this point." A small smirk crept across her face. "Could anyone spell three month surfing vacation as I whittle away the 'no compete' clause? I'm sure the severance pay would be quite nice if he does."

He chuckled, despite the stress the woman he knew was still lurking in there; if all else failed, screw it all and go surfing. "I have to be there and watch you drop him. Just one thing." Her gaze was curious as he paused, "Tell Bennett. It's driving the man nuts, which in turn is sending the rest of us up the wall."

At his long suffering expression she laughed, "Alright, Phil. Just for you." Leaning in Imogen gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Kick ass in your match tonight, I know it's going to be one for the ages." The two went their separate ways for the time being, Phil to get changed and Imogen to find Nattie.

Down the hall and out of sight a figure smirked to themselves as the tender moment between two friends had been captured on their iphone and with a little prodding could be taken completely out of context. Sliding the cell away they turned and slunk off, all sorts of devious and underhanded ideas coming to mind with the small sliver of ammo they now possessed.

* * *

><p>The show had started and everything was in full swing. Lillian opened the show by singing the national anthem and Vince McMahon had made an appearance, welcoming everyone to the show. Cody and Ted were first up against Air Boom, successfully retaining their titles from the pair of high flyers, then proceeded to make a statement by the way of a post match beat down. The United States championship was next, Tyson Kidd unable to overcome the unorthodox offence of Santino for the strap. After some Wrestlemania moments it was time for the Divas championship bout.<p>

Natalya came to the ring first to the boos and jeers of the crowd, eyes set and determined as she climbed through the ropes, pacing back and forth as she waited for her opponent. A moment later Kelly Kelly made her appearance with her friend Eve at her side. The pair posed at the top of the ramp before coming down to the ring, the cheers of thousands of fans sounding though out the arena. Nattie had to keep the amused smile from her face as an ironic thought skipped across her mind; she wondered how many of these people would actually be cheering if they knew just how self serving their favourite little Divas were. The Queen of Hart's eyes quickly scanned the crowd, Callisto was out there somewhere, waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump the barricade and cost K2 the title.

Kelly handed the belt over to Jack Doan, who raised it above his head to show the masses before passing it to someone n the outside. A moment later the bell sounded and the match was under way. The two blonds circled each other, a game of cat and mouse for someone to make the opening move. K2 went in for the first shot only to have Nattie dodge it and answer with a forearm smash, following it up with two more before whipping the champion into the ropes and connecting with a clothesline. Natalya then stomped her opponent, all the while talking trash and promising Kelly she would make her cry. The action went back and forth for a few more minutes with Nat dominating for the majority. After a while the Canadian dragged the champion to her feet and threw her into the nearest turn buckle then taunted the crowd. As she began to ascend the ropes the women jockeyed for position and Kelly managed to push her off but the challenger managed to stay on her feet.

Thinking fast Kelly launched herself at the challenger, catching her in a position for her trademark tilt-a-whirl head scissors which left Nat thoroughly dizzy and disorientated. Stumbling back into the corner the champion measured her up before nailing Natalya with a Kelly Killer. Dropping to the mat the Canadian rolled out of the ring to buy herself some time and regroup. Not wanting to let up on her opening of offence K2 followed her out only to find herself making friends with the nearest ring post. Eve started to come around the corner but stopped when the ref warned her off. A cruel smirk appeared on Neidhart's face and whipped Kelly into the steel stairs before goading Eve to try and do something about it before throwing her back in the ring to break Doan's count out.

Eve had seen enough as Natalya got increasingly aggressive with the champion, eventually jumping on to the apron to protest as Kelly barely made the 3 count while Nat had a handful of her tights. It was the opening Callisto had been waiting for as she vaulted over the barricade and scrambled up the turn buckle just as the champion was slammed into the mat with authority with one of the Canadian's signature suplexes. Launching into the air Kelly was victim to a perfectly executed Spiral Splash. Rolling out of the ring as quickly as she had gotten in Callisto crouched by the side of the apron, Jack Doan completely unaware of the play of interference. Seizing the opportunity Natalya immediately went for the pin. Three seconds later there was a new Divas champion.

Belt raised high above her head Nattie stood over the former champion and gloated, her accomplice rejoining her in the ring and the two heels embraced in camaraderie. An look of evil intentions passed between the two and Callisto dragged Kelly off the floor, casting her in the new champion's direction before spotting Torres coming in to defend her fallen friend. Caught between the ropes there was nothing she could do to avoid the running drop kick from the devious femme fatale, Callisto knocking her out of the ring and onto the floor. With Natalya directing traffic Callisto ascended the turn buckle once again as a wobbly Kelly somehow stayed on her feet as the other woman took to the air once again for what started out as what looked like a 450 splash and ended up in a drop kick, sending K2 across the canvas. With a fist full of blond locks she leaned closer with a malicious smirk, "See you later tonight, the I Quit match should be fun."

As the usual parade of officials finally hit the ring the two women left, Callisto raising Natalya's arm in victory as they back-tracked up the ramp. So many 'mania moments had already happened and the night was far from over...

* * *

><p><em>Butterflies fluttered frantically in her stomach as the cab pulled up at the police station where they had taken Stu. Paying the cabbie she stepped out and looked up at the imposing building. For the millionth time she questioned herself for coming, the answer ringing in her ears as blunt and direct now as they were the day she heard them. Taking a deep breath she steeled herself and took that first step that seemed to far; she had to do this, she was <strong>going<strong> to do it, not merely for herself but because it was the right thing to do._

_Walking across to the reception desk she cleared her throat nervously, catching the attention of the on duty Sargent. At first he was a little surprised when he recognised her but recovered quickly. "Can I help you?"_

"_Yes." She replied as she fidgeted, twisting one of the rings that was on her right hand. "I'm here to talk to the detectives that bought in a work colleague of mine earlier today, Stu Bennett."_

"_What about?"_

"_I'm not really sure." She answered truthfully, her voice sounding uncertain. "Just that there are things about Shane McMahon that they should probably know."_

_The Sargent leaned back in his chair and wondered what to do for a moment before picking up the phone and pushing a few numbers. A few words were spoken when he got through to the desired department then hung up. Pointing towards the seats around he politely asked her to wait while one of the detectives made their way downstairs._

_A few minutes later woman appeared; skin the colour of rich coffee and dressed in burgundy red pants and jacket with a fitted mauve shirt underneath. Her hair was tied back from her face in a bun, leaving her strong beautiful face clear of anything that might obstruct her sharp dark eyes. "I'm detective Lewis." She said as a form of introduction, "I've been told you wish to make a statement over the events involving Shane McMahon and Stu Bennett?" The younger woman opposite her nodded. "Come this way, Miss...?"_

"_Blank." She replied, "Barbie Blank."_

* * *

><p><em>Curve ball! I bet none of you saw that coming, muahahahaha...<em>

_I'm hoping to keep this thing at about the twenty chapter long mark or there about, so drama will be picking up soon. If any of you are curious about the actual WCW Thunderdome match it is up on youtube and is a very entertaining one to watch, even twenty three years later. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in some classic old school showmanship! Also t__he Spiral Splash is a little deviation of AJ Styles Spiral Tap. Instead of ending it in a leg drop I made it a splash instead._

_Until next time, _

_Peace!_


	10. Chapter 10

"The old Stars Vengeance." Phil began with a grin, who had been watching one of the monitors backstage along with Anthony and Cody. "I haven't you use that in ages."

"It's Wrestlemania, I figured it was time to pull something really flashy out of the bag." Imogen replied with a casual shrug. After getting the blessing of AJ Styles years a go to use a modified version of one of the TNA star's signature moves, the splash had been Imogen's first finishing manoeuvre. While she didn't go to the top rope as much as she used to in her earlier years it was nice to fly once in a while and even though she wasn't an official participant in any of the matches, she felt something special had been in order for the show. A sudden thought bought a wry grin to her face, "I can hear the TNA marks on their keyboards now though, saying that I stole Allen's move and whatever else."

At the same time Phil spied Shane on the other side of the room Stu had joined their little group, his arm loosely sliding around Imogen's waist as if it was second nature. The former Second City Saviour watched in smug amusement as Shane's face went from mentally eating one of his best friend's alive to disgruntled disdain with Bennett's simple act before catching the champion watching him. In that moment McMahon knew that Punk was onto him, more than likely clued in by Campbell herself. While he wouldn't say anything right now, knowing it wasn't his place to do so, Phil nailed the chairman's son with a glare that was unmistakable; if McMahon kept it up he would lay him out before anyone else could.

Shane, not to be outdone, casually pulled his cell out of an inner pocket on his jacket. A minute later Phil felt the vibration of his own that sat in the pocket of his hoodie and opened up the messages. His head snapped up from what he was viewing to the man across the room, trademark arrogant smirk in place. Quickly he regained his composure and put his cell away before anyone noticed the murderous countenance that briefly possessed Punk. Out of the corner of her eye Imogen saw Phil stiffen when he read the text he had received and the two friends made brief eye contact, before Imogen casually turned her head in the direction of Punk's venomous glare. An unspoken question of concern was answered by a subtle shake of the head. She mentally shrugged, knowing that if it was important he would tell her when he thought the time was appropriate.

The only matches left before the two main championship matches was for the IC belt between Champion Jack Swagger and challenger Zack Ryder, then Money In The Bank; the six men who had qualified this year were Dolph Ziggler, Justin Gabriel, Alex Riley, Alberto Del Rio, Evan Borne and Cody. Joined by the Garcia's the group sat around the monitors and watched as Zack and Jack gave the fans everything they had for almost twenty minutes with Ryder hitting Swagger for a second Rough Ryder, sealing his win. In an unusual display of good sportsmanship, Jack extended his hand to shake Zack's for a match well fought, beginning a baby face run for the All-American American.

Cody got up and grinned, even though he and Evan had already wrestled it was hard not to feed off the energy in the atmosphere tonight. Money In The Bank was anyone's game, the only match in the year that didn't have a predetermined winner. This year Cody had vowed to make it the Year of Rhodes. "Well folks, it's show time." He turned to Phil and Imogen before he left, "I'd say wish me luck, but..."

"Luck is for losers!" The two finished in unison.

Cody chuckled then headed off for the gorilla before he was briefly stopped by his older brother and father, who gave the youngest Runnels man a few words of encouragement. Virgil smiled with pride as he watched Cody walk out of the room with his head held high and brimming with confidence and while Dustin had never gotten an opportunity to be a true main eventer it wouldn't ever stop him from supporting Cody to his fullest. Approaching the gathering he took the seat that his sibling had just vacated at Punk and Anthony's insistence. Overcome with a brief case of awestruck bashfulness all Imogen could offer the two legends was a friendly smile before turning back to the monitor just as the bell rung. It wasn't long though before it was obvious she wanted Cody to win, despite her efforts to be neutral about the whole match. While she had nothing against the rest of the men competing, she and the youngest Runnels had become a good friends over the past couple of months and was overjoyed when he finally ascended the ladder and retrieved the briefcase. Dustin was surprised when she jumped out of her chair and hugged him in her enthusiasm but returned the gesture, he couldn't have been more proud of his little brother even if he tried.

The camera cut to Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler who were now talking up John and Stu's 'I Quit' match for a couple of minutes before the video played. "See you soon." Stu said as he placed a kiss on Imogen's forehead and headed off to the gorilla, giving Cody his congratulations as they passed each other.

Virgil looked at his son with the biggest smile anyone could imagine before the two hugged each other, Cody looking as if he had already won the championship that the contract in the case would bring him when he finally chose to cash it in. If it were possible for anyone to look any more proud of their boy than the American Dream did of Cody right now, you'd be hard pressed to find them.

With everyone making a fuss over the new Mr Money In The Bank, Imogen slipped back next to Phil as they watched Stu and then John enter the ring and kick things off. After a few minutes she pulled Phil to one side so only he could hear her. "So are you going to tell me what had you giving the death glare to Junior over there?"

"I'll go one better and show you." He replied as he pulled out his cell and opened up his messages, "Seems like there's a stalker following you around."

With an air of puzzlement she took his offered phone, eyes widened in surprise at the pictures of the comforting hug that the pair had shared earlier along with her kiss in the champion's cheek. _They_ knew the scene was innocent enough, but without a context to put them in it could very well look like the two long time friends were possibly something more. Imogen's jaw clenched, she had finally had enough as she shot up and stormed across the room with Punk's cell in hand. "Just what in the hell are you playing at?" The brunette fumed, shoving the images in his face. "Where the _fuck_ do you get off sneaking around taking pictures of people, then try to misconstrue the truth into something else simply because you can't get what you fucking want?"

This was not the reaction Shane had been banking on. He had been around the world, had seen and bedded all sorts of women so he had a fairly good grasp on how he could manipulate them into what he wanted. She had been reacting in the way which he thought she would, thinking that given a little more time and pressure she would finally snap and accept his 'offer' so he would stop the constant punishment he had been inflicting on Stu. He looked from the furious woman to all the faces that had been watching the monitors around the room staring at him; some in confusion, a select few in disgust. Imogen Campbell had snapped alright, just not in the way he could have ever predicted. He went to open his mouth and go into damage control but she didn't give him a chance.

"You think that just because you father owns the biggest wrestling company in town you can play puppet master with peoples lives and careers on a whim?" Imogen all but yelled at him, tossing Phil back his phone. "Or you simply can't accept the idea that some women in this world find you not only unattractive but so completely and utterly repugnant to the point where you should just go die in a fire?"

"Now just wait a damn minute-"

The fist was as fast as it was hard, sending him reeling as it connected. If he thought she had some pop behind an open hand slap it was nothing compared to her closed fist, training under her father had seen to that. The collective gasp was audible from not only her group of friends but the other wrestlers from both rosters that had been at the monitor station. "How fucking _dare_ you attempt to use the friendship I have with Phil to fabricate some bullshit, just so you can try and drive a wedge between Stu and I! So listen closely, asshole, because I'm not going to repeat myself. I wouldn't fuck you if it if you were the last... thing on earth and my life depended on it. If the choices where screwing you or death then I'd say bring me the gun, because I'd pull the trigger myself." She growled then went to make her exit. "I don't give a rats ass if you fire me, sue me, have me arrested or whatever else, because I'm not afraid of you. This company may be the biggest game around but it sure as hell isn't the only one."

Leaving it at that she stormed out of the room, stalking the halls until she found Barbie getting prepared for their part of the match. "How in the hell can you let that disgusting bastard even think of touching you?" Imogen snapped, even though the other woman hadn't even said anything. "Where's your self respect?"

"What are you on about?" Barbie shot back irritably, as she sat down in the chair that was with them. She was still sore from the punishment that Natalya had put her through, as well as Imogen's little top rope stunt to finish it all off. The last thing she wanted was to hear a sermon from Imogen about sleeping her way to the top before it sunk in. She had finally flipped her lid on their boss. She watched as the brunette paced back and forth opposite as they waited for their cue from the crew that was to capture on camera the key to John losing his title as it was aired over the 'tron.

"I just don't understand who any woman could..." Her words trailed off, she couldn't even finish the sentence she was that livid. The thought of anyone using Punk of all people, one of two friends who had been there through thick and thin, against her to destabilise her relationship absolutely outraged Imogen. "I'm going to be blunt with you before we start this bullshit. As much as I loathe to say it, I can see the definite potential for you to develop into an _actual_ wrestler instead of some waste of space that would be better suited to the Playboy mansion. You wouldn't have needed to fuck that asshole to get the strap if you just put a bit of hard work in and do things the right way. All you've done is encouraging the sleaze ball to keep doing what he's doing!" He ran a hand through her thick locks, pushing them aggressively out of her face.

One of the crew moved forward to 'securely' tie Barbie to the arm rests of the chair, doing their best to ignore the seething, pacing Tampa native. Barbie herself simply stared at the woman in shock, she didn't know whether she had just been insulted or complimented. Feeling awkward she decided to focus on her bonds, satisfied that they were firm enough to look like she really was tied to the office chair but could easily slip out of them once she was no longer in front of the camera. It seems her rival wasn't quite done venting though as she stopped her pacing, hands resting on her hips as she stared at the former champion. "Look, I don't give a rats ass who you screw around with, ultimately it's your choice. Just at least have enough pride and respect for yourself to not simply spread your legs because it's the easiest way to get what you want."

A heavy silence fell on them, all but one pair of eyes focused on the small silent monitor as they looked out for the cue to get the ball rolling. Barbie couldn't help but keep stealing glances at Imogen, the complete anger the other woman was that evident that a blind man could spot it a mile away. Then there was what she had just heard... it was almost as if the world had gone momentarily mad. She shook her head and finally focused on the screen as John and Stu fiercely battled it out in the arena.

* * *

><p>Both men were breathing hard, the only thing keeping them going was the electricity from the tens of thousands in attendance. John struggled to his feet, clawing at some nearby scaffolding to help him in the process. Wade had a hand pressed up to his right temple then pulled it away, briefly gazing at the crimson that soaked into the black tape around his hand and covered some of his fingers. With a grunt of effort he to slowly managed to get himself upright and his eyes locked with that of his opponent. Mike Chioda, helpless until one of them finally uttered the small two word sentence, merely stood a few feet away with a microphone in hand. Again for the countless time during the match the two wrestlers launched themselves at each other, exchanging wild swings until John finally blocked one, then with a shout whipped Barrett into the scaffolding. With some nearby cable he tangled it around Wade's arm, sufficiently tying the man there, and went for the closest weapon he could find.<p>

The steel of the chair impacted on Wade's back with authority, causing him to cry out with the pain. Cena went to town with the chair, each shot looking more brutal than the last until Barrett seemed to be almost hanging there from his trapped limb. With a fist full of the Englishman's sweat and blood soaked hair he pulled his head up as he signalled he the mic, "What do you say, Barrett?

It took a second for Wade to focus on the champion before the arrogant trademark smirk slowly appeared as a familiar voice sounded out through the speakers in an almost sing-song like tone. "Oh Johnny Boy... Up here, Champ." John whipped his head around to gaze up at the Titantron, confusion evident with the sudden appearance of Barrett's valet on it. Looking down the lens of the camera in front of her, the Sultry Seductress wore her own small evil smile. "It's 10pm, do you know where your girlfriend is? I do..."

The camera zoomed out as she stepped to the side, revealing them to be standing outside at one of the loading bays. His annoyance turned to shock when he caught sight of the distraught Kelly bound and gagged to a large desk chair struggling to get free. With emphasised deliberateness Callisto began to slowly roll the chair down the ramp, where it ended in a nasty drop before stopping barely a foot or so away. "What do you say, Cena? Want to see how much more damage I can inflict on your little woman here?" Kelly shrieked through the cloth that gagged here as she was edged a few inches closer and could see just how far the drop was.

John's eyes widened, he didn't want to believe that she would do it but he knew that punishing his girl had become something of a cruel sport for the new Diva. Again the office chair crept forward a little closer, "Stop stop stop!" He exclaimed in a rush, looking between the screen and Wade who had untangled himself, that smirk of superiority had only gotten bigger. This had been the plan all along. Cena was visibly torn, if he didn't quit then Kelly was going to be sent over the edge, if he did he would be breaking his own code. A growl of frustration turned into a roar, heels of his hands pressing against his temples. Kelly screamed again bringing John back from his mental dilemma, the only thing stopping her from going completely over ramp was Callisto's hold on the back of the seat. "Alright!" He shouted helplessly, "I... I quit!" He glared at Wade, he never dreamed the Brit would use such underhanded tactics. "Just don't let her fall." The tone was pleading as he turned back to the 'tron.

Barrett's music flooded the arena as he was handed the title, revelling in the death glare Cena shot him with as he held the strap high over his head and the crowd _hated_ him for it. With smug satisfaction Callisto slowly pulled the chair back and spun it so Kelly was facing her, "He's such a good boy, don't you think?" Before anyone could think the villianess planted her foot firmly on the edge of the seat and pushed, much to the shock of everyone watching, sending it back on it's course and over the edge.

At the same time Wade made his move against the now former champ, surprising the exhausted man by nailing him with a thunderous shot with the belt then hoisted him up for a nasty Wasteland on the unforgiving concrete floor. Planting a foot on his chest Barrett lorded it over his fallen foe, revelling in the vehemence that the thousands threw his way.

* * *

><p>Barbie slid off from the Giant padded crash mat that had been set up for her fall, accepting a hand that helped her to her feet from one of the crew. Looking around she found that the brunette had already disappeared and everyone else began the process of packing up. She didn't mind not having anyone to chat with at the moment though, deciding she needed some time to thing things over as she made her way back to the locker room to get her things. She was almost there when a familiar armed snaked it's way around her waist and pulled her into a vacant room. Looking up into Shane's unreadable eyes an unbidden voice rang through her head.<p>

_Have enough pride and respect for yourself to not simply spread your legs because it's the easiest way to get what you want._

"Shane... no. I'm not doing this any more." Barbie surprised herself with her own words, almost as much as it surprised McMahon. "I'm not going to be treated like your little personal fuck toy."

Shane could not believe what he was hearing. First his scheme with Campbell backfires, now this tramp thinks she can simply tell him when it's over? Fuck no, he was Shane McMahon! "Listen up you little slut, this isn't over until I say it is. Are we clear?"

Kelly was not going to lie to herself, this new McMahon that seemed to be emerging was starting to scare the shit out of her. Her gaze noticed the bruising that was starting to show around his left eye and the blond immediately knew who must have done it. In a weird way it helped reinforce her new budding resolve. Wrenching her arm from his grasp she bolted for the door, swinging it open before he could stop her. "I said no, Shane, and I mean it. We're through."

Furious he followed her out into the hall, "Why you little fucking-" His words suddenly died in his throat, "Paul."

Paul Wight, AKA the Big Show, towered over them both and took in the scene. He had already heard what happened and by the looks of things had gone to Barbie for something, only to be surprisingly denied by her to boot. The whole thing was not sitting well at all if Blank's visibly shaken appearance was anything to go by. Stepping in between them he looked down on the Boy Wonder, "Something wrong here?"

"... No" Shane finally answered, only someone who had lost their mind would willingly antagonise Paul. With no other choice left to him Shane turned on his heel and stalked off.

"Thank you." Barbie said quietly, she honestly didn't think that anyone, let alone a veteran like White would stand up for her if she needed it against the boss. She had been such a bitch to just about everyone...

"No problem." He started off down the hall and stopped when she called out after him.

She was nervous, would he really want to know someone like her after knowing all the rumours she knew were about. "Would you... would you like to get a drink with me?"

He thought it over for a second, then shrugged, "Sure."

A smile crept onto her face as the pair of them set off, maybe this new found... whatever it was... wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

><p><em>Well, there we have it, things are beginning to move and I play around with Bab's even more! I figure if this damn summer heat wont bugger off I may as well do something useful with my sleep deprived time.<em>

_Also I recently joined twitter, as in last night recently, if anyone does that sort of thing. If you want to add/follow me it's taloris but you may want to message me first letting me know who you are, I have this thing where I ignore randoms that I have no idea who they are._

_Anywho, you've read, hopefully enjoyed and if you're really nice you're going to hit that review button. _

_Peace!_


	11. Chapter 11

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you-"

"But you could tell half the locker room?"

"I hardly call Tony and Phil 'half the locker room'!"

"Not to mention Brie and Steph. What about Cody, did you tell him to?"

"Alright, I get it! You're pissed! How many times am I going to have to say I'm sorry before you believe me?"

Stu sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, avoiding the stitches he had gotten to patch him up from the match tonight. This wasn't how he envisioned his first night as WWE champion starting out. Despite the pain killers he had taken his head throbbed, made worse by the argument he and Imogen were now having. He had come backstage after his match only to walk straight into the buzz that was flying around over the monitor room scene and a rather disgruntled looking Vince informing him that Imogen's presence was now required in his office in Stamford tomorrow, seeing as no-one had been able to find her after the part she had played with Barbie. A quick check of his phone's messages told him she had gone back to the hotel. Sore, aggravated and a little shocked at the revelation of events he had followed suit after a quick shower and arrived in their room not in the best of moods.

Why he was so angry he wasn't completely sure, he couldn't figure out if it was because she had turned around and someone else, even if they were mutual friends, and she hadn't confided in him at all about the situation. Or maybe it was purely the primal male instinct kicking in, his ego taking a blow to the fact that because she hadn't said anything to him Stu was unable to protect his girlfriend from unwanted attention from another man. "I just don't understand why you wouldn't tell me. Did you think I'd what, beat his head in with a cricket bat?"

"Well I know you wouldn't have simply done nothing." She watched as he stared at her for a moment before covering his face with his palm, shaking his head in exasperation. Did she honestly think he had such little self control? Throwing her hands in the air Imogen crossed the room and sat down on the end of the bed before falling back on it with an unglamourous flop. She closed her eyes as a twinging sensation started up in her temples, praying that the headache would think twice before deciding to pay her a visit. "I handled it didn't I? I seriously doubt he's going to keep his bullshit up, especially now that Vince knows."

"Even if it means he might fire you?"

"Yes!"

She sat up, the word not the best of choices to use. The mildly hurt look on his face was proof of that. "Stu..." Imogen sighed, trying to figure out the best way to word what she wanted to say. "You had to know this whole thing would come with it's own teething problems. I'm just a woman from the indy scene and was at best a big fish in a small pond. All of a sudden I'm thrown in the deep end of the ocean with absolutely little to no time in the way of preparation for all of this; the excessive travelling, thousands of screaming people, the backstage politics... not to mention the bottom feeders looking for gossip to throw on the dirt sheets. Of course I'm going to screw up at some point."

Pushing off the bed she stood back up and crossed over to him, "I just... didn't know what to do. The reason you had been put in all those hellish matches over the past month is because of me, because Shane wouldn't accept no for an answer. Do you even know how hard it was to watch Randy all but put you straight through the roof of that car, knowing that it only happened because I slapped the taste out of his mouth before telling Junior where he could shove his suggestion? The harassment, lecherous stares and attempted intimidation tactics... he even threatened to take away your shot, have someone purposely injure you, if I mentioned any of this to you; despite how close it was to Wrestlemania. You had so much going on... I just didn't want to add even more to it."

The longer she went on to explain it the quieter Imogen became but did nothing to downplay the conflicting emotion in her voice. Stu couldn't help but let go of the frustration that had been building up over the past hour. He took one of her hands, cradling it between his, then tugged her towards him. Instinctively her arms wrapped around him as Imogen rested her head against his chest. Like him, this was not how she had seen the night panning out; instead of being with a bunch of friends and having a good time after the biggest show of the year they had spent the latter half of the evening arguing in the hotel room. He held her closer to him, his arms encircling her, wondering what was going to happen now...

* * *

><p>Vince McMahon was not amused.<p>

He sat behind his oversized antique mahogany desk in Stamford eyeing off Shane who was on the opposite side, elbows resting on it's surface with his fingertips pressed against each other. The old man hadn't said a word for almost three minutes as he tried to figure out where as a parent he might have gone wrong for his son to be acting in such a way. While the senior McMahon would be the first to admit he was no saint, he liked to think he knew what was good for business and what was not. While he didn't so much have a problem with his son occasionally sleeping with the talent, they were all adults after all and were responsible for their own choices, he did have a problem with Shane's apparent refusal for the word 'no'. What he had a problem with even more was the idea of Shane handing out contracts to jump straight onto the main roster simply for the goal of getting a woman into his bed, regardless of the fact that she had clearly shown no interest in him or how talented she actually was in the ring.

After hearing about the debacle that had taken place in the monitor room he had Imogen report to the office to explain her actions the day before, if nothing else he had to give credit for the young woman's frank attitude with the truth. While nervous about meeting with him for the first time she hadn't backed away from speaking her mind, whether it was something he particularly wished to hear or not. After hearing her out Vince decided to take her off the roster for the week until he sorted the whole mess out and decided what to do. To his mild surprise she had agreed with the decision without any argument whatsoever and, if he was a betting man, the even barest hint of relief. The latter reaction made the Chairman wonder just how much of the unwanted attraction she had to deal with.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He finally asked, displeasure plainly obvious. "Going around making an ass out of yourself like that and embarrassing the company!"

Shane had schooled his face into indomitable neutrality at Vince's trademark growl, as far as he was concerned this whole thing was a waste of time. "What's the big deal? She's just some nobody from the independent scene-"

"That _you_ hand picked to throw directly onto Raw and into the angle involving _both_ the Divas and WWE championships!" Vince finished, cutting off his son. "God dammit Shane, even a blind man can see the girl is committed to Bennett! What in the hell made you think you could prove it otherwise? We'll be lucky if she doesn't sue the ass out of the company for sexual harassment, not to mention that Campbell seems to have worked her way into the hearts of more than a few of the hotter talents that we can't fire them all!" As his son went to speak he silenced him again with a finger, "Not that firing Brooks, Runnels, Carelli, _Cena_... and almost half of the better talented Divas _is_ an option!" As he had gone on with his rant so to had Vince's temper along with the volume of his voice, bringing his fist down on the desk like an exclamation point at the end of his sentence.

Shane mentally swore like a sailor in his head, nothing he could say or do at this point was enough to swing the power back in his favour. He would just have to wait and watch how it played out.

"Here's what is going to happen." Vince declared, "I'm _not_ going to fire her just because you were thinking with the wrong damn head. I've seen what creative have planned out for Campbell and Blank, and I'd like to see where it goes seeing as it runs complimentary with what they have planned for Bennett and Cena. You are not to have any contact with her unless it's in a strictly professional capacity and just to make sure you don't decide to go on and simply ignore everything I've said, I'm having Paul co-run the show with you until I say otherwise."

Dismissed from his father's office Shane stalked out of the building until he reached his car, throwing his jacket across to the passenger seat aggressively. _Terrific_, he scowled mentally, _Not only do I have to deal with this shit I'm going to have dear old brother in law watching over my fucking shoulder_. Gunning the engine of the silver Mercedes SLK he tore out of the lot and down the road; this wasn't over yet.

* * *

><p>Overcast clouds on the horizon framed waves that lapped lazily at the shore and Imogen's feet tried to sink into the wet sand as she jogged along; her parent's German Shepard idly bounding along beside her who was big, even for his breed. She found that people tended not to approach her with a dog as large as Hercules was and intended to take full advantage of it. When she stopped he dropped the stick he had been carrying and barked playfully. With a grin she picked it up and rinsed off the generous coating of slobber, the dog bounding from side to side with excitement. Imogen giggled as Herc bounded forward a few feet before he realised she had tricked him and turned with a whining bark. Throwing it in the water he charged, his bulk crashing through the waves as he paddled out to retrieve his toy. He came back and dropped it at her feet yet again with a hopeful whine. They goofed around for a while longer before Imogen decided it was enough, so woman and canine headed back at a casual pace.<p>

"So, enjoy your run?" Her father, James, asked as a form of greeting as he met them out on the deck, holding out a cup of coffee to his daughter when she had finished draining the water bottle she had taken with her. Hercules padded past and made a beeline straight for his water bowl, noisily enjoying the cool refreshing drink before flopping unceremoniously into a heap on his bed with a large contented sigh.

"Always." Imogen replied with a grin. They sat down on the two outdoor chairs that overlooked the shoreline, a small table with a frosted glass top in between them. "Where's Ma?" She asked idly, sipping at the hot drink as she pulled out her cell from her pocket. Holding it at arms length she flashed a smug grin and snapped a quick pic, then sent it off after typing a quick message.

"She went down to the store." He answered, "Are you teasing that man of yours again?"

"Maybe..."

He simply shook his head and chuckled, "You know I half expected you to end up with Brooks there for a while, then you went and found yourself an Englishman."

"_Phil?_ Dad, please... Just... No." She shook her head. Sure, Phil had a certain appeal in his own scruffy, Oscar the Grouch sort of way, but the pair had known each other way to long. There was just something that had the duo quite content to keep their friendship as just that; friends. "He's like... the brother I never had, just like Scott. It just would be weird as hell dating him. Besides, Stu has the 'tall, dark and handsome' thing going on." Even just thinking about Stu was enough to brighten her features.

James watched the big smile spread over his baby girl's face and a part of him melted, not that he would ever publicly admit it. James 'The Enforcer' Campbell's reputation was akin to something like the character Red Foreman from _That Seventies Show,_ especially when it came his only child who was the apple of his eye. He had spent years travelling the country as one of the toughest, meanest men to ever lace up a pair of boots to terrorise the territories with his shoot wrestling style in the 1970's and met the sly and beautiful manager 'Miss Angelica', who's real name was Rosa Ramirez. The two suddenly became inseparable and the pair of devious heels were booed out of just about every event they worked at. It wasn't long before Miss Ramirez became Mrs Campbell after James had managed to get the blessing of his soon to be father in law. A legendary Spanish born champion and phenomenal technical wrestler, Andres 'The Matador' Ramirez, a fearsome competitor who loved to inflict pain on his opponents. Not only was wrestling the family business, doing it as a heel was something of a tradition as well.

Not many men had the testicular fortitude to stick around when confronted by the Enforcer, even when he wasn't trying to intimidate and test them. The fact that Bennett not only stuck around, but had taken everything the grizzled old wrestler dished out and came back for more once the older man found out about the exact extent of his relationship with his daughter... Well, even James respected his commitment.

Shane McMahon on the other hand... that little prick had better start watching his back as far as James was concerned. He may be old but that wouldn't stop him from turning the little bastard inside out and twisting him into a pretzel.

Suddenly the clouds opened up with the promised rain the weatherman had predicted on last night's forecast, causing the two people and dog to quickly move inside just as Rosa walked through the front door with an armful of groceries. Taking one of the bags she helped her mum put it away as they all chatted about this and that.

_'Time to fuckin' diiiiiiiie!'_

Her mother raised a brow at Cliff Compton's voice that was her message alert. "Really, Imogen? How subtle."

"What?" Unable to completely hide the grin that attempted to creep up as she read the reply.

_You'll keep, wench... And yes, I miss you. See you Monday._

_I love you._

The grin won out, her Monday morning flight couldn't come fast enough.

* * *

><p>Eve Torres was confused.<p>

It had been a week since Wrestlemania and her friend Barbie had been unusually quiet; when it came time to get their party on, Barbie had stayed in her hotel room on more than one occasion. Not to mention that she seemed to be spending more and more time in the company of Paul Wight. At that thought she wrinkled her nose, Barbie and Paul? He was so... old. Not to mention that Blank could pull way hotter guys than Big Show. Barbie was even spending more time in training, it was weird, like someone had lit a fire under her ass. Eve was adjusting her gear when she saw the blond walk into the looker room in the reflection of the mirror. "Hey girl, you ready to hit the town after the show tonight?"

Barbie hummed in contemplation for a moment, "No, but don't let that stop you and Vee."

"What is with you lately?" Eve asked as she turned around, "You don't want to go out to have some fun and you've become so quiet, not to mention I keep seeing you around Bigfoot. Are you and him..." The sentence trailed off, ending in a suggestive, slightly disgusted question.

"What? No, nothing like that." She replied with a shake of her head.

Eve simply studied her with a sceptic air, her mind already coming to it's own conclusions. While Blank was fun to be around, she hadn't exactly been known for keeping her legs closed. With a shrug she left to find Victoria, they had a match tonight against Beth and a returning Imogen.

Barbie released a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding, a little pang of hurt assaulting her as she caught a glimpse of Eve's unbelieving face. Pushing it to one side she tried to focus more on the show tonight. With Imogen's return, her absence last week explained as a 'suspension' for her actions at Wrestlemania, it was the night where they would slowly begin to plant the seeds of the seduction part of their continuing feud. There was a tag match that was set to take place with John teaming with Ryder while Wade's partner would be Ziggler. During the course of the bout things would get out of hand, Zack and Dolph would somehow end up taking there part of the brawl backstage leaving the two arch rivals to face off. It was during this last few minutes of the match that Wade would 'sacrifice' Callisto to save his own skin, leaving his valet to take the brunt of what should have been for the new champion.

Barbie had to admit, the bump was going to be rather unpleasant but to Campbell's credit she wasn't shying away from it at all.

It inexplicitly irked her, ever since the events of 'Mania Kelly couldn't stop measuring herself against the brunette. She had even gone so far as to secretly get as much footage as she could of the other woman's matches, which is why she had been spending so much time in her hotel room as she watched hours of the bouts on her small laptop. Studying Imogen's technique and moves, wanting to be prepared as best she could for their next one on one encounter in the ring and show the born wrestler that she wasn't someone to simply be disregarded. For the first time since she had sealed her spot on Raw, Barbie had actually wanted to show she could be just as good as the best of them. After all, hadn't the now legendary Trish Status started off as a mere valet? Her first matches had been horrible, but Trish had stuck with it and improved to the point where she got where she now was. Barbie was determined she could do the same and finally silence her critics.

In this new found budding confidence Paul Wight had become an unexpected and pleasant surprise. It had only been a week but the giant had shown so much tolerance and patience with her that she hadn't been able to help herself and had slowly begun to open up to him, voicing her thoughts, fears and insecurities. He had given her advice, constructive criticism and most of all encouragement, especially when it came to Shane. It had been a relief to see that Paul Levesque had arrived, by now everyone had heard of 'the incident' and had had a fairly good guess why the EVP of Talent was now partly overseeing the show; Shane was now effectively being muzzled by his own brother in law.

_'Time to fuckin' diiiiiiie!'_

She turned to see Imogen walk through the door, giggling at the message that had just been sent to her. As the brunette looked up the two women locked eyes for a moment before Barbie crossed the room to stand in front of her rival. "Just so you know; it might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but someday I'm going to prove to you and everyone else that I can be just as good in that ring as you are."

Imogen cocked her head to the side, not answering right away. This wasn't the Barbie whom she had met on her first day, this Barbie, while her voice was still laced with the barest hint of nerves, was determined to stand by what she had just said. There was no arrogance, no snide bitchiness to it; it was a declaration, a promise. She was changing and the Tampa native couldn't help but sense that it may be for the better. After a moment a smile spread across her face, challenging but far from condescending. "Name the time and place, I'll be waiting."

* * *

><p><em>More twists and turns! This really is a fun story to write... so much so that it's making me neglect everything else. Whoops...<em>

_Was doing some reading on Trips and he really is the Executive VP of Talent, makes me wonder what the difference between that and Laurinaitis' job of Talent Relations is. Eh, the hierarchy of corporations is a confusing thing with all their fancy titles..._

_For those of you wondering who Cliff Compton is, he was Domino of the tag team Deuce & Domino. Go to youtube and search for Dueling Dominos (Cliff Compton Has a conversation with himself via Art of Wrestling), if you don't mind a bit of language it's quite entertaining._

_Any way, that's it for now. You know what to do from here my lovelies!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Barbie sat down at detective Lewis' desk, which was in a quiet corner of her unit's floor doing her best to remain as calm as she could. It was the first time she had ever been in a police station, giving a statement at that, so she was understandably nervous. They had gone through Barbie's take on the events and were now going over Triple H's showing up at Raw. "Everyone thought with Levesque's arrival Shane would finally settle down and move on, and for a while it looked like it was actually working."_

"_How could you tell?"_

"_Well Paul wasn't overly amused by the fact that he all of a sudden had to be looking over his brother in law; he had been enjoying the chance to spend some quality time with his little girls, especially his eldest, Aurora." Barbie replied, "First thing he did once he got to the arena that night was go and have words with Shane... that anyone walking past their office could hear."_

"_Tell me what happened after that."_

"_Well after he had pretty much ripped McMahon a new one he showed up at the women's locker room, asked to speak to Campbell in private then I assume explained what was going on in more detail. After that the night pretty much went on as scheduled..."_

* * *

><p>The lights were bright and the fans were screaming their hearts out as Wade Barrett and John Cena slugged it out in the middle of the ring blow for blow, their tag partners had vanished a while a go with their own brawl. Blocking the incoming fist Wade then shoved John backwards with authority, sending the other man backwards and crashing into the referee. As the official crumpled to the canvas Callisto jumped at the opportunity that presented itself, sliding a chair in Barrett's direction. Unfortunately for the pair of heels, the chair did not reach it's intended target as it was intercepted by the former champion.<p>

John's eyes locked with those of the devious Diva, the eye contact momentarily broken as he thwarted Wade's attempt to jump him from behind; ducking the man's incoming clothesline and answering with one of his own. Again he stopped Callisto from interfering as she attempted to retrieve the weapon she had thrown in, his foot firmly placed on the steel as she looked up at him with a look that clearly said she knew was in trouble. As a grin crept over John's face he leaned over and deliberately took his time in picking up the steel, their eyes locked the entire time before he straightened up and held the chair high above his head and pointed at the champion. Without time to think Callisto instinctively slid under the rope, putting herself between Cena and Barrett with John barely able to stop his swing in time. From behind his valet Wade smirked smugly at the evident frustration on John's face, tugging on Callisto's arm and the pair slowly got upright.

Noticing the ref starting to come to John was about to throw it out of the ring when an idea came to him. Slapping the steel against the mat he threw it towards them, Imogen being in front of Wade catching it out of instinct just as the former champ crumpled to the canvas. The realisation that he had just used one of her own tactics against her dawned a little to late on Callisto as the official took in the scene and called for the bell despite her protests, disqualifying Barrett. With a growl Wade snatched the chair from her grasp and swung it at Cena who blocked it then delivered a kick and wrenched the weapon out of the champion's hands. Taking his own swing Barrett ducked out of the ring and started up the ramp leaving Callisto, who had been behind him, to take the impact.

Both men wore a look of shock, each unable to quite believe what just happened as the woman lie motionless in the ring. Dropping the chair John looked from one heel to the other as a few officials came to the ring and the show went off the air.

* * *

><p>Imogen gingerly rubbed the side of her head as she pushed open the door to the women's locker room. Even though she had sold the shot well John had still hit her a little harder than intended, leaving him feeling terrible about it. Once he got backstage and found her at the trainers station insisting that aside from a bit of a headache she was fine, Stu just watching the discussion unfold from his place leaned up against the wall by the door. It took her a little but she finally convinced both the doctor and John that she was alright -it not being the first time she had taken such a bump over the years delivered by a man and was far from the worst- she was allowed to leave, Cena feeling a lot less guilty and Stu headed to the superstars locker room for a shower.<p>

Now that she didn't have to be in front of thousands, Imogen rifled through her bag to pull out something that was a bit more comfortable than the flashy outfit they were having her wear to the ring if she wasn't wrestling. While she could agree that the attention seeking outfits were nice and may suit Callisto, they weren't really the sort of thing that Imogen Campbell would wear. Swapping the sparkly halter-neck top and black mini skirt for a pair of charcoal grey jeans and a black baby doll T-shirt, one of the WWE Wade Barrett ones no less, Imogen was in the process of wrestling out of the pair of high heels she had worn down to the ring and into some comfortable sneakers when there was a knock on the door. Not bothering to look up from her task it was Brianna who answered it. "Imogen, it's for you." She called out after a moment.

She somehow wasn't surprised when she saw who it was, part of her had been expecting it since she heard that he had arrived. "Mister Levesque." She said with a small nod of her head.

"Miss Campbell." He replied, "Come with me please, we need to discuss a few things."

Suppressing the urge to sigh she followed him down the hall and into the office he was forced to share with Shane for the night. "You, out. Now." He all but growled, his hazel eyes almost boring a hole through the McMahon. "Ass." He grumbled before he turned around, catching Imogen trying her best not to smirk at the treatment given to the General Manager. He decided to let it slide for the time being, he didn't really know the full story as of yet, as such this was the purpose for bringing her into the office. "Take a seat." he said with a gesture of his hand and stepped around to sit behind the other side. "Now, Shane has told me his version of the events, but I've known him long enough to know what's truth and what bullshit when he's telling me something. I know you're probably sick of repeating yourself by now, but I'd like to get your version."

So for the third time in two weeks she found herself going over her story. The initial proposition, the refusal and ensuing harassment and intimidation. When she finished Paul didn't say anything at first, his mind digesting what it had just been told. "You come across as a smart person, and I know of your family's history in the business. Hell, I even saw a show or two of your dad's promotion he started up after he retired." He began after a minute, "So we both know that you should have enough of a grip on all aspects of the business that something must have been off about the actual contract offer before you took it. I'm not accusing or attacking you, I just want to know... _why_ did you accept it?"

"Honestly? At first I told myself I allowed Stu to talk me into it... but after a while -travelling with him, getting to work with Nattie again for the first time since our stint in Japan and spending more time hanging out with one of my best friends- I realised that I _want_ to be here. Yes, I know it was a short cut but not having to go through development and come straight here to Raw and believe me when I say that I'm still getting used to it all. But the bottom line is I love wrestling, there's nothing in the world I'd rather do with my life, and to do it here in the WWE... Well, it doesn't get much bigger than that, does it?"

He slowly nodded his head in understanding. It was obvious why a fair few people on the roster had taken a liking to Imogen, her love for the sport was so obvious that a blind man could see it. The no bullshit approach she possessed was also refreshing. "Look, I'm sure you're aware of it so unlike Vince I'm just going to come out and say it. Are you considering suing the company for harassment?"

"What? No, of course not." She replied, sounding as if it was one of the silliest things she'd ever heard. "Just because Shane's an asshole doesn't mean the company should have to pay for it. Besides, I was bought up the old fashioned way and would rather settle it out of a court room... if my dad or Stu didn't beat me to it first."

"Ah, yes. Bennett." Paul mused at the mention of the new WWE champion, "I take it he's not going to do anything stupid over this, is he?"

"Well, to say he was pissed is putting it mildly." Imogen replied with a little reluctance, "But you wont have to worry about him giving Shane his two cents worth, so long as he backs off and stays there."

"That certainly something you wont have to concern yourself with any more." He confirmed, irritation written on his face at the thought of his brother in law. "I've made sure of it."

"Thank you, Mr Levesque." She began, "And I apologise that you had to get dragged into all of this."

He simply waved it off, "It's not your fault, Shane just needs to start thinking with the right damn head." Getting up he crossed the room and opened the door. "And please, no need to be so formal. Just call me Paul."

"I can do that, so long as call me Imogen. When people say 'Miss Campbell' I feel like it's junior high all over again and I'm getting sent to the principals office."

He chuckled, "Fair enough, I'll see you at the next house show. Have a good night, Imogen."

She came down the hall back to the women's locker room to find Stu with both their bags waiting for her. "There you are." He said, "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine, hon." She replied, waving her hand dismissively and picked up her luggage. "Nothing a couple of pain killers before bed can't fix. Right now I just want to get back to the room, have a nice hot shower... and we can see where things go from there." Imogen finished, a hint of a familiar smirk he knew well creeping through.

"What the lady wants..." Stu trailed off before changing the subject and they started for the parking lot. "So what did Levesque want?"

She simply shrugged. "Same thing everyone else has wanted for the past week or so." Imogen sighed, lifting her bag into the trunk. "I just want it to all blow over already so we can simply get on with the job."

"Give it a little time, love." He assured her as they climbed in and he started the engine. "Trust me."

* * *

><p>Shane paced back and forth in his suite, yanking the silk tie around his neck that felt entirely to restrictive off and cast it carelessly across the room. How the hell had it gone so wrong so quickly? Who in the hell did the little bitch think she was? Shane McMahon could make and break careers, yet here he was, brought to heel by a god damn fucking <em>woman<em>. It was like he had almost been neutered or something of the like, the metaphorical comparison not sitting well at all.

He stopped then headed for the small bar and poured himself a whiskey, gulping the first shot down like it was water. Pouring another he wandered over to the large plate glass window and absently stared at the cityscape. The smallest of minute voices in the back of his mind tried to reason with his irate state, telling him that no mere woman was worth his time and energy when he could so easily get himself another. But the self perceived blow to his pride and ego refused to be denied. Up until now there hadn't been one woman he had chased that had refused him. He had practically handed her the world and the unappreciative bitch threw it back in his face, choosing to stay loyal to Bennett and then humiliated him in front of the majority of the company with the pictures that Victoria had taken and gave to him, in return she would be the next Divas champion.

While he was now no longer allowed near her without getting his ass reamed by Paul he still held power over booking matches, including hers. His lips twitched into a malevolent sneer; while he wouldn't do anything to interfere with the planned angles, no-one had said he had to make it easy for anyone involved...


	13. Chapter 13

_OMFG! UPDATE! _

_I know, it's been a while. The good old imagination decided to take a break whether I wanted it to or not. This was one of those surprisingly hard transitional/setup chapters that was like pulling teeth to try and put together, so if it reads a little flat I apologise. You can't win every time I suppose. So without further ado, enjoy!_

_Peace!_

* * *

><p>Wherever Shane was right now, Imogen was wishing a pox on the spiteful little bastard for setting up such a ridiculous match. She had always hated bra and panties matches, even more so in the rare event she was booked in one, and was in the firm belief the whole idea to her was pathetic. She was a professional wrestler for christ sake, not some drunk kid on spring break who thought jelly wrestling seemed like a bit of good fun. To top it off she had been slated to lose to the duo of Eve and Victoria and there was nothing Paul could do when Imogen had gone to him about it. So if she had to lose that was fine, just not in the way Shane wanted her to. There were certain benefits to being a heel who enjoyed using underhanded tactics after all...<p>

Out of spite she had gone through all the ring attire she had to decide the one that would be the most effort for Victoria and Eve to try and relieve her of in the mean time. The problem was Callisto was a bit of a show off, so with an exasperated sigh she tossed one of the outfits over her shoulder as she continued to delve deeper into her options.

Stu opened the door to their hotel room and the fact that it currently looked like a bomb had gone off before the airborne clothing landed haphazardly over his head. "Nothing to wear to the ball, Cinderella?" He commented in an effort to lighten her mood, she had been aggravated about it all morning. If the annoyed scowl he got as a response was any indication she was not appreciating the endeavour. With a sigh he folded the top he had in his hands and placed it on the end of the bed. He noticed she had got half of it sorted out as he eyed off a set of pants and studded belt with the world's most fiddlesome buckle he had ever come across to try and get undone. That evil thing in itself should give either opponent a hard time; he knew it did when he first encountered it and he didn't have to rush with it like he knew the two women would have to.

He hated that belt... but for tonight at least he appreciated it's in-ring value.

"Remind me again why I didn't take the opportunity to turn Junior into a eunuch when I had the chance..." Imogen grumbled as she surveyed the clothes that lie scattered all over the place.

"Can't help you with that one, Love." Stu replied, chuckling as she stomped on the spot like a child and huffed. "As for your gear... maybe you'll get lucky with some of the new stuff that you're supposed to be getting tonight at the show."

Imogen considered this for a moment. In her irritation she had almost forgotten about the consultation she had had with one of the Diva's seamstresses a few weeks a go, giving the woman an idea of the persona of Callisto and what would fit said personality. She had been more excited than she thought she would about the idea, Imogen had never had such few limitations when it came to having someone design ring wear for her. As she started folding up the clothing strewn around the place and packing it back up he mind once again ticked over the possibilities of losing the match without giving Shane any satisfaction from it at all.

A few hours later the roster started showing up at the arena and when the couple arrived Imogen made a beeline for the woman who would have her new gear. While she wasn't showing him what it was, saying he would have to wait like everyone else, Stu was pleased to see she no longer wanted to bite someone's head off. Her match was before his so it wasn't long before she disappeared again to finally get ready.

Adjusting the last of the black and silver straps on the leather corset like top and smoothing out the short skirt attached to it Imogen gave herself the once over in the mirror. With the silver trim it looked a little something like a steam punked Greek or Roman warrior princess, and when she turned on the Callisto attitude it was downright smoking hot. Her traits of a Spanish heritage gave the overall effect a little flair of authenticity to top it off. Even though she knew it was a little bit of a risk as the whole thing was one piece it had enough straps and clasps to make the effort in relieving her of it no easy task. Satisfied with her appearance she headed out toward the curtain, her mind already ticking over different ways she could lose the match without losing her clothing and in turn, her dignity.

Closing her eyes she focused on the match ahead, tuning everything else into background noise that could be ignored and channelling that inner streak that was Callisto. Eve and Victoria were going down there first, playing up to the crowd as they descended down the ramp. When they were done her own began to play, eyes snapping open after the first few lines and pushed her way through, arrogant confidence evident as she took her time approaching the ring. Climbing the stairs Callisto vaulted over the top rope, the arrogance transitioning to a no nonsense game face. The ref signalled for the bell and the match was under way. The trio of women circled around the ring, Callisto as tense as a spring and darting our of reach as Eve made the first grab for her, in the process herding her toward her partner, Alicia.

The action went back and forth with time Callisto barely managing to stay one step ahead. Almost eight minutes in Eve had lost her top and Alicia her skirt. It was also apparent to anyone who knew how to spot it that there was a war of stiff shots unfolding in the ring which, inevitably, ended up in one of the three bleeding. An injury that drew blood, no matter how small, was rare to see in a Divas match. Alicia had managed to hit one of her signatures on the heel, driving her face into the canvas harder then it should have. As pain bloomed Callisto instinctively covered her face, feeling the warm tickling sensation of blood from her nose. She had had enough injuries in her time to know it wasn't broken but the fact was little solace. As if someone had flicked a switch in her head the gladiator garbed woman was _pissed_.

Fighting her two opponents off her Callisto scrambled to her feet, dark intent evident on her features, and hit an incoming Eve with a hard impacting uppercut. Wiping the small trickle of blood from her nose with a fingerless gloved hand her attention switch to the woman who had inflicted it on her. As quick as Alicia was, Callisto was faster, ending up with a handful of her opponent's fiery red hair. Pulling her back she delivered a savage short arm clothesline that sent Alicia crashing to the mat. Ignoring the admonishment from the ref Callisto dropped and rolled out of the ring; it was time to go weapon hunting.

Chair after chair clattered loudly onto the mat; three, four, five... At a tally of nine it stopped raining chairs in the ring and Callisto slid back in with number ten in her hands, to which Jack Doan immediately confiscated and reprimanding her in the process, kicking several of the steel objects out along with the one she was intent on wielding. By the time he turned around however she had gotten Eve onto her shoulders, trademark evil grin in place at his protesting before bringing the woman down hard on one of the remaining chairs with a Wasteland. With no other choice he promptly called for the bell, Callisto had lost by disqualification. Alicia managed to get up and tend to her friend, glowering up at their rival who simply smirked back. She may have lost the match, but she had won this particular battle and sent a message at the same time. No matter how had the rest of the Divas bold enough could push, Callisto was willing and able to push back harder.

As soon as she disappeared behind the curtain she let out a string of curses as Imogen gently prodded at her injured nose with the occasional sniffle, the metallic tang of blood in the back of her throat every time she did it. "Fucking bitch..."

"Charming language." A familiar voice replied, causing a scowl on Imogen's already unimpressed face.

"What's the matter, Junior, your little spiteful plan not go the way you intended?" She spat back, "If you had bothered to think with the head on your shoulders instead of the pea brain between your legs, you would have done your research and seen that outcome coming a mile off." Her dark blue eyes held a hard edge as she glared at him, "I suggest you go find someone else to piss off, didn't daddy tell you you're not supposed to be near me without Paul holding your leash?"

"Just keep running your mouth." He retorted, taking an aggressive step forward and felt a flicker of smug satisfaction as she took a subconscious one back, "You may think you hold all the cards now, but don't think you're invincible. I've made and broken careers of men who were bigger stars then you'll _ever_ be." The two stood there, locked in a battle of wills until from the corner of his eye Shane saw Stu approaching them. "See you around, Miss Campbell."

"What was all that about?" Stu asked, his own gaze attempting to bore a hole in the Boy Wonder's retreating head before turning his attention on his woman. His hands gently cupped her face as he studied her nose.

"Just a brief exchange of words, nothing to worry about. Ow..." Instinctively she pulled her head back as his thumb brushed across the bridge of her nose. "It's not broken, if that's what you're worried about... though I would like to go to the aid station so Alex can have a look at it. Get some paracetamol for it at least."

He agreed and they set off. After reaching their destination and getting the all clear from the trainer Imogen sat with her head tilted back and playing with a small icepack waiting for the meds to do kick in. "Listen, Shane's booked another match with Orton and I tonight..." Stu began a little reluctantly. "I know you're not going to like it, but I'd prefer it if you stay backstage for this one. Just in case."

"Come on, Stu, you can't hide me away every time you get in the ring with Randy." Imogen replied, unable to keep the slight tone of disappointment out of her voice. "I'm a big girl, I know how to keep out of the way if I have to out there."

He sighed, He was hoping that she would simply agree and make this easy but that just wasn't the way Imogen did things after being sufficiently pissed off. "I know... Just this once, please? I'm only asking because it was Shane that set it up and I don't trust the little prick as far as I could throw him."

Putting the ice pack to one side she studied her champion for a moment, he was beginning to use that look again. Damn it all, why did he have to possess so much if that irresistible English charm? "Alright, fine... but you owe me, Mister Bennett."

He gave her a small appreciative smile before placing a kiss on her forehead, "What the lady wants, the lady gets."

"Good, I'm holding you to that." Imogen replied, "Just... be careful out there with him. I'd rather not see a repeat of the last match you two had."

* * *

><p>Imogen paced back an forth impatiently as the trainer went about his business. Tonight had been a reminder of just how dangerous and unpredictable their job as wrestlers could be whether by intent or accident; Stu had been sent over the top rope and had landed heavily on his arm at an awkward angle. Her stomach felt like it had taken a plunge into ice water as she watched it happen and witnessed his reaction of agony, clutching at his elbow instinctively as he writhed in pain. Even now it was obvious that the injury was significant and would likely keep him out of action for a while. The Tampa native stopped her pacing as she caught sight of the man responsible and her eyes narrowed; of course it would have been Orton that did it. During the match both men had taken their war of stiff shots to another level tonight and yet again Randy had come out on top. Seeing as it was Shane who had booked it there was no doubt in her mind that he had been instructed to stick it to the Englishman any way he could. Again. It disgusted her to think that Junior would be over the moon with what had transpired tonight.<p>

Randy felt eyes on him and turned around, his arrogant smirk at the sight of the angry Diva disappeared when his attention shifted to the man stalking down the hall behind her. Paul was on a mission to rip the Viper a new one, he hadn't seen Randy act so reckless since his early days in Evolution and the power trip he had after it on his Legend Killer phase. "Just what the hell were you thinking out there tonight?" Levesque growled, forcing the younger man to take a subconscious step back as he dominated his personal space. "I know you and Bennett don't get along but I expect both of you to at least show some fucking professionalism instead of acting like a pair of damn high school jocks!"

Randy knew he was right though he didn't honestly give a shit, but he knew Paul well enough not to antagonise him any further. "Hey, I'm sorry. We just got a little carried away was all-"

"A _little_ carried away?" Paul snapped, "You've only just put Bennett on the shelf and screwed up the WWE championship angle!" There was no way that Stu could hold onto the championship without causing further injury to his shoulder and making it worse, so he would have to surrender it. The gears turned his mind as Levesque tried to figure out what the hell they were going to do now. Before he acted on the strong urge to slap some sense into the Viper, Paul dismissed him, "Get the hell out of my sight before I fire your dumb ass."

Doubting it would actually come to that but not willing to push his luck either, Randy complied. With a heavy sigh Paul turned around to see Imogen glowering at the former world champions retreating back, as if she was trying to set him on fire with the power of her mind. "Dislocated elbow." She said as the Co-General Manager made his way over, "He'll probably be out for at least a minimum of six weeks, and that's being optimistic."

Paul leaned against the cool of the brick wall as he rubbed at his temples. They would need to go through the top guys and throw some sort of tournament together or something, having the final match at the next PPV. "Damn it..." He turned to study the woman next to him, it was another problem to sort out to. Her own story line had been tied to Stu's in the long run and without the latter the former was kind of pointless now.

"So... any idea what happens now?" She asked somewhat reluctantly.

He shrugged apologetically, "Not quite sure yet. But don't worry, I'll try and get you in somewhere."

Imogen supposed that was the most she could wish for at this point and accepted it when the trainer came out of the first aid station. "We're going to have to take him to the hospital to assess the full extent of the damage." He said when Levesque inquired about the situation. "It's not career threatening, but he's definitely going to have to take some time off so it will heal properly."

Moving around the man she ducked into the room behind him as he continued to talk to Levesque, "Hey."

Stu looked up from his injured elbow, the look in his eye about the current completely miserable situation lightened a little. "Hey."

"They just said they're going to take you to the hospital, you want me to go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. There's no reason both of us should miss out on a couple of hours sleep." He extended his good arm, inviting her to sit beside him. While the pain had resided to a persistent throb instead of a stabbing sensation thanks to the pain killers she was careful not to aggravate it further as her arm circled around him and his own draped casually over her shoulders. "Besides, I'll be back before you know it."

She wanted to argue and go with him regardless but she could tell he was tired and decided against it. "OK, but don't tell me not to wait up for you, it'll be a futile exercise. You've spoiled me to much with the whole 'sharing a bed every night instead of a handful of days a month' thing for a few months now." Despite the rough night they both had the easy atmosphere created in the past few minutes buffered it considerably. Not needing to prattle on with empty conversation they simply opted for comfortable silence until it was time for Stu to go and get his X-rays, which was Imogen's cue to find Beth and get a ride back to the hotel.

When Stu did finally return they had given him stronger medication so it wouldn't bother him while he slept. Opening the door to the hotel room he shook his head and chuckled. It seems not waiting up for him wasn't such a futile effort after all; Imogen lay asleep on the bed with a soft grip on the MP3 player that he could hear playing from across the room. How she wasn't completely deaf was beyond him sometimes. Gently prying the small music player from her fingers he turned it off and put it on the night stand before sliding up next to her. He was tired but wasn't really in the mood for sleep as the realisation that she would now be on her own on the road, even though she had new friends and old with her along the way he didn't trust Shane. As she instinctively curled closer to him in her sleep his good arm wrapped around her, fingers lightly raking through her soft hair. He could only hope that John and company could look out for her while he was gone...


	14. Chapter 14

For the next few weeks Imogen was bounced between Raw, Smackdown and both brands relative house shows that didn't have conflicting schedules. Pulling the double duty was exhausting, so when she wasn't performing, in the gym or something else work related the usual place to find her was with her head buried in a hotel pillow. She first suspected Paul was trying to keep a measurable distance between herself and Shane the only way he thought best, by having them on different shows while they figured out what to do with her. When she had discussed simply transferring to Smackdown on a more permanent basis he had told her to think about it first; once approved she would likely be there a while and simply couldn't jump back to Raw once Stu came back from injury. For now working both shows got her an increase in pay, so it wasn't entirely a bad thing. While she was becoming easily irritated she enjoyed the chance to travel with the Smackdown crowd at the same time.

Spending more time with Nattie, Cody and especially Phil was three big pros amongst the sea of cons, and having Punk around again gave it a bit of a feel of their early years on the road together. He was also good at judging when to let her mouth off to blow off steam and when to jump in and get Imogen to stop. Cody seemed to act as a calming influence in his own way to, his laid back and usually quiet demeanour a key factor. Natalya was the one who was like a ray of sunshine in the mornings, able to bring out the competitive nature they shared back in Japan as they worked gym sessions and the occasional match together. When Beth got added to the mix the three would tear up their routines like an unstoppable force. With Teddy Long as a firm but fair General Manager, Smackdown felt more and more like it was the place to be.

Raw on the other hand was starting to get under her skin. Barbie had continued to go through her metamorphosis, much to the disapproval of Eve and Victoria who couldn't understand why. The entire thing was beginning to cause a lot of tension in the Raw Divas locker room. Beth and Imogen on one side, who were slowly becoming a surprising voice of support for the former Divas champion as she genuinely tried to improve her skills. Victoria and Eve were on the other, accusing Barbie of caving in and selling out to the pair of 'butch bitches'. Barbie found herself stuck in a sort of no-man's land, unsure if what she was doing was worth the drama it was causing. Having Imogen actually stand up for her in itself was confusing, both women had made it pretty clear that they didn't like each other.

"It's because she's starting to respect you." Paul Wight said when the two had caught up for their usual breakfast chat, "I've been around this business a long time and I know Campbell's type. This sport, it's in her blood. If you clearly disrespect it they can take it almost as a personal insult. But since Wrestlemania you've put your game face on and have really been working at it hard, she can see that. It's not how long you've been at it for, it's the commitment you're now giving it which is changing her attitude towards you." Pausing he took a slow sip of his juice before continuing, "I'm not saying you'll be friends any time soon. Respect and friendship are two completely different things."

"You really think I can do this?" Barbie asked after a while, "I know I'll never be as good as Campbell, Nat or-"

"Now you can stop that negativity right there." He interrupted, Paul hated it when the woman would tear herself down. "You can be if you try hard enough; Beth, Nat and Imogen all started at the beginning to. They weren't born with wrestling as a super power. Don't worry about what they're doing, right now just focus on you and where you want to go and in time you'll have some great, memorable matches of your own to be proud of."

He was right of course, her problem was that she was still measuring herself up against Imogen; who's grandfather and father had been champions. Who had been wrestling almost as long as she had been walking. Who knew almost every single in and out of this business, both on the stage they performed and the scenes behind it. But it was then Barbie realised something. For all her skill it wasn't what bought her to the biggest game in America; it was her looks, just like almost every other woman who had gone through the WWE doors. Sure, Imogen could wrestle like a fiend but it _wasn't_ why she was hired. Shane hired her because he simply wanted to fuck her whenever he wanted, which hadn't turned out the way he planned at all. Then she remembered that morning in hotel room... they way he began acting after that concerned her.

Paul cocked a curious brow at the small smile that was spreading over his companion's face, then watched as it slid back into a slight frown of contemplation. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Her attention returned darted around the room, seeing if anyone was in ear shot before turning to the giant in front of her, "I'm not sure if this is the best place to talk about it."

He could see that this was something she needed to get out, to clear her own head if nothing else. Placing his cutlery on his now empty plate and signalling for the bill a couple of minutes they were ready to leave. "Why don't we go for a walk? It'd be criminal not to take advantage of a nice day while we can."

It sounded like a plan, so together they went for a stroll around the block. "I was just thinking, despite Campbell's wrestling ability she essentially got in because she's, well, gorgeous." The admittance came out with a bit of reluctance, she hated the idea of complimenting the woman... at least while they were still at this stage of the game. "So in that respect... she's not any better than the rest of us. To put it bluntly she only got her contract because Shane wants to fuck her."

Paul couldn't help but snort in mild amusement, from day one it had been obvious that the woman only had eyes for Bennett. Against that sort of loyalty McMahon stood no chance. "Well he is well known for thinking with the smaller of a man's two heads. It's not a surprise really."

"I know..." Barbie fell into silence as they watched some school kids load onto a bus, waving at a few excited students as they realised who the two wrestlers were and crammed up against the back window to get a better look. "You know what I did with Shane and why I did it. Looking back I'm not proud of it, but when she came into the picture... it seemed like he was changing. Not for the better either."

Concern nestled itself in the back of Wight's mind, "What do you mean exactly?"

"Well, you know how he likes to control things." Barbie answered, "And, well, Imogen has pretty much had him by the balls ever since she shot him down; especially after Wrestlemania. I mean Vince himself taking her side over his own son? I bet that one didn't go down well. It's been making him... obsessive. More than people realise. I get the feeling like if things keep going the way they are something bad is going to happen."

She shivered, despite the pleasant temperature. Without thinking to much about it one of Paul's massive arms wrapped themselves casually around the diva and gave her a reassuring hug. "Well then, I guess you and I had better keep our eye on the little weasel."

Barbie smiled, it was hard not to feel safe while being hugged by a man the size of the Big Show. While she had been with the company for a few years now, Paul was the first one she felt like she had made a proper connection with. He didn't care about what she had done with the junior McMahon and simply accepted her for who she was and didn't expect anything more from her than she was willing to give. Pulling out of the hold she looked up at him, "Thank you, Paul."

"For what?"

"For just... being here. It's nice to have someone to talk to, I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be able to tell someone something and know it wont end up all around the locker room by the end of the day."

He simply grinned, "Any time." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small folded piece of paper and handed it to her. "Going back to what we were talking about earlier, I called in a favour from an old friend. He'll be happy to help you to advance your training."

Taking the offered note she unfolded it to find a cell phone number and some initials. "Who's DM?"

"Dean Melenko, 'the man of a thousand holds'!" He replied with a little flair, "If anyone can teach you how to tie someone up in knots, It's Dean."

Her smile was positively beaming, this was something she never would have expected at all. "Paul... just... Thank you, you're the best."

"I know, but we'll keep that our little secret. Once Melenko is done with you the Divas division wont know what hit it."

* * *

><p>Two and a half months had passed since Stu was sidelined by Randy and Imogen was still working both shows. To try and even out the work load Levesque scaled back her house show appearances where he could, but seeing the heat she could get off a crowd Stephanie was seriously considering putting the younger woman up for title contention. If approved it meant she would have to potentially keep up with the current pace at the very least, if not increase it a bit more. While the title opportunity sounded like a great idea, Paul had to admit he was starting to get concerned about just how much longer Imogen could keep up with her current work load, though so far she had never once complained about it. It was time to get a decision from Campbell, stay on Raw and put up with Shane, or make the jump to Smackdown full time and work separately from Stu on a more permanent basis. Making up his mind to go with Steph to this Friday's Smackdown he would giver Imogen her choices and hopefully get an answer soon, for both their sakes.<p>

Upon arriving and asking around as to where the Tampa native was they eventually ended up running into Punk first. "... Are you both insane?" He asked with a tone of slight disbelief when he got the answer to why they were both there, "I mean sure, the title shot is great, but you want to add even more onto the work load she's already got? She's spent the last six weeks all but living off Red Bull and coffee just to keep up!"

"I know." Stephanie replied calmly. She had heard the story of just how long the two had known each other and found his genuine concern for her well being touching. It could be hard to find that sort of friendship now days, especially in this business. "That's why she's going to have to make a decision of which show she wants to stay on."

"So if she decides to stay on Raw and wait it out for Bennett to come back she not only has to deal with Junior but would still be forced to pull double duty any way because Nattie is here." Phil said sarcastically, "Yeah, that's a great potential choice to let her have."

While understanding in Punk's apparent need to look out for his friend Stephanie did not appreciate the disrespect aimed towards her brother, no matter just how much of a jack ass she knew he was. Despite his faults, Shane was her brother and a bond of blood was hard to break. "While I understand your concern, Brooks, I do believe this is a decision left to her." She retorted somewhat icily, "Now can you tell us where she is or not?"

"Catering." He replied after a minute, "Probably has the coffee on an IV drip by now." Not bothering to stick around any longer before he said something else that would really land him in hot water, the world champion stalked off. As far as he was concerned the entire thing was bullshit. Something should have been decided weeks a go on what to do, instead for two months he had to watch as Imogen all but ran herself into the ground doing everything that was asked of her. A lot of the excess booking had been made by Shane himself, the fact alone made him even angrier on Imogen's behalf. If they really wanted things to calm down they'd at least limit the booking power the bastard had...

Catering was quiet, all things considered, and it wasn't hard to spot the beautiful brunette among the few people that were there. She had commandeered a table at the far back of the room, head resting on her crossed arms over the tabletop and a Styrofoam cup wafting a lazy trail of steam sat beside her. As the couple got closer it became apparent that she wasn't simply resting her head, she had actually fallen asleep. "Just give me five minutes." Came the muffled reply when Stephanie reached down and gently shook her arm.

"Wake up, Imogen."

At the sound of Paul's voice she jerked awake with a start, knocking over the coffee in the process, hissing through clenched teeth as it came in contact with her skin. "Dammit!" Paul retrieved some napkins and handed them to her. Throwing some on the table to soak up the spilled brew she used the rest to wipe off what had spilled on her. "Not to sound rude, But what are you doing here?"

"I have a proposal for you." Steph answered, "How would you like to have a run for the title?"

"What?" It was hard to focus, Imogen must have been dozing for a good fifteen minutes at least; she felt so tired lately that all she wanted to do was curl up in a nice comfy bed and sleep for a week. She couldn't have possibly have heard the McMahon heiress right.

"I want you give you a run for the title." Stephanie repeated. "We've been playing with the idea of turning Natalya face and need a strong heel to pull it off. Since you two know each other so well, have great chemistry in the ring and you get a great heated reaction from the crowd I thought you'd be perfect."

Imogen closed her eyes and for a minute Paul though that she might have nodded off again, "I sense a catch somewhere..."

"You're right." Paul jumped in, looking over at his wife as if to say _let me handle this one_, "You've been working your ass off lately and I appreciate that, especially since you haven't complained once about it, but we know you can't keep this pace up forever."

"I don't have to keep it up forever." Imogen said, a lazy smile slowly working it's way to the surface, "Just until Stu gets back."

"That's not going to be for a few more months and you now that." Levesque pointed out the obvious truth, "Look at you, you're all but falling asleep right now."

"Then stop letting that fucking asshole book me at every god damn thing he can!" Anger to easily provoked at the drop of a coin lashed out, despite her effort to try and stop it. As fast as it reared it's head her tone calmed, "The televised shows I can handle, hell even half the house shows along with it is fine. Just... I don't know." Her eyes opened and Paul could plainly see just how far the fatigue was catching up with her. "Can we just get on with what the catch is, please?"

"You're going to have to make a choice, Stay on Raw and continue the double duty, or move to Smackdown on a permanent basis."

"... And end up back to barely seeing Stu at all." She added somewhat glumly. "Great choices."

"No one said this was going to be easy..."

"I know." She sighed, a part of her knew this was coming eventually. In a way it was a relief. "Can I have some time to think about it at least?"

Stephanie nodded. "I can give you a week, we need to get the next title contention up and running soon. Also I'm going to talk to Teddy, see if we can get you the night off from competing at least." Seeing just how run down their newest Diva was getting first hand, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt that her own brother was a big cause of it. As they left to find Teddy Long Stephanie too one quick look back before they left catering, Imogen had once again dozed off at the back of the room.

* * *

><p><em>OK, I think I'm making up for a little lost time here. Hopefully I can start bringing everything to a head in the next chapter or two, so look out for the drama to kick into gear soon!<em>

_Peace._


	15. Chapter 15

Stephanie had managed to get Imogen the night off, so with Phil only cutting a promo the two had decided to leave early. Not really wanting to argue Imogen agreed to let him drive so they wouldn't wind up around a tree or the like if she tried to do it herself. "So, what do you want to do?"

Phil thought for a second, he had toyed with the idea of going out somewhere but didn't think she'd be up for it before the idea hit him. "Bad movie night? We haven't had one of those in forever."

"Sure." Imogen grinned, "And since you're the unrivalled master over such a large collection of bad movies you can pick. I have no doubt you have a few stowed away at any one time."

"Just for that we're watching _Big Trouble In Little China_."

"Oh my god, again? I swear you're going to wear a hole in that one." She shot back, "If we're going to change it from bad movie night to Kurt Russell movie night then we're watching _Escape From New York_ to."

He simply chuckled and shook his head, Imogen at one point had a huge crush on the movie star in his younger roles. Heading to their perspective rooms Imogen dropped off her luggage and changed. Phil answered the knock on his door twenty minutes later. "About time, what the hell took you so long?" Taking in her appearance he snorted in amusement, "Am I going to need to throw a life preserver in that shirt? You look like you're going to drown in it."

Imogen stuck her tongue out at him as she sat down on the edge of the bed, all but swimming in the collared shirt with it's sleeves rolled up to her elbows she had pilfered from Stu's suitcase before he had gone home. She had no doubt she looked ridiculous wearing something that was designed to fit a man who was six foot seven but right now she didn't care. Digging through the paper bag she had with her she pulled out a few things and handed one to him, "I went to get dinner, you're welcome by the way." Giving his thanks with a grin he picked up the remote and hit play after settling down next to her. It had been to long since they had done this last and felt like old times, the only thing missing was the third person of their old crew, Scott Colton. "So what's Cabana Boy been up to lately?"

"He's doing another Wrestling Diaries DVD, with Cliff and Luke Gallows this time." Phil replied, "You really need to log into Twitter once in a while."

Imogen merely scoffed at the idea, she thought the way the social media site was handled was taint amount to shoving it down the fans throats. As such had only created an account through some form of obligation but barely used it at all. The fact it had a character limit of only one hundred and forty was also something she hated; if she had to type then Imogen liked to go on some sort of tangent. When the movie began she refrained the urge to facepalm, "I thought you were kidding about watching this."

"Yeah right." He smirked, "Best. Movie. Ever."

As they argued over which movie really was the best the film rolled on as Kurt Russell stumbled into a world of ancient Chinese magic with a side order of Kung Fu. Eventually the pair went quiet, attention focused on the TV screen as they got comfortable. Shortly after Punk glanced over to find Imogen passed out and hogging his pillows. He shrugged and decided to leave her where she was, he didn't have the heart to disturb the woman as she caught up on some much needed rest.

* * *

><p>Sunlight forced it's way through the cracks in the drawn curtains and fell across the bed. Imogen grumbled as her brain fought off the waking world, reluctant to give up on the blissful peace that was sleep. She turned in an attempt to deny the ray of light it's mission to wake her, finding another warm object in the bed beside her and cuddled up closer to it with her arm coming to rest on a firm chest. Imogen's sleep fogged mind had come to the conclusion that Stu must have crept into her room to surprise her again, like he did back home. Calloused fingers rested on the smooth skin of her forearm as it rose and fell with the owner's slow breathing. But something registered clearly, snapping her awake as her hand eventually found the other person's jawline.<p>

Stu did _not_ have a beard.

With a start Imogen scrambled back, not paying attention to how close the edge she was and promptly tumbled to the floor and landed on her ass. At the same time Phil shot up at the sound of the commotion, "What's happening?" He asked sleepily, struggling to wake up.

"Why in the blue hell were we in the same bed, Punkster?" She demanded as she gingerly stood up and rubbed her butt.

"Because you fell asleep about half way through the movie and I was not going to cart your heavy ass all the way down the other end of the hall. I also wasn't going to sleep on the floor either." He grumbled, "Jesus, Cal, it's not like we fucked each other. Besides you really needed the shut eye."

He was right of course, they were both reasonable adults and she could trust Phil to keep his hands to himself. Hell, it wasn't like they hadn't ever shared a hotel room before on the road either, though they had had separate beds at least. As she looked at him sitting there as his usual grumpy first thing in the morning self she could see he even went so far as to make sure they had separate blankets. "Sorry... It was just a bit of a shock waking up that close to your ugly mug first thing in the morning."

He arched a brow at her smart ass apology. "Ugly mug?"

"Heavy ass?"

"Touché." Phil pulled back the covers and got out of bed, several audible cracks ran along his back as he stretched. "Meet you down stairs for breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan." Imogen replied as she tried to fight off a yawn. Crossing the room she reached the door, "Thirty minutes sound good?"

"Works for me, I'll see you down there."

Randy Orton closed his hotel room door behind him when a voice a few doors down caught his attention. While he hadn't bothered with Bennett's girl at all in the grand scheme of whatever Shane was concocting, he knew enough to know that the room she just came out of was not her own. It was Phil's, her supposed 'best friend' and nothing more. By the looks of her slightly dishevelled 'just woken up' appearance it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she simply hadn't just popped in to visit the Straight Edge wrestler. He smirked as she walked past him, "I see you didn't waste much time."

"Excuse me?"

"Bennett has only been gone, what, two months?" He continued, a part of him enjoying the look of blank confusion on her face. "Soon as he's out of the way then you jump straight into bed with Brooks. Tell me, if he were to get injured who would you jump to next; Cody, or maybe that clown, Carelli? Maybe the reason Shane wanted to hire you isn't that far off the mark after all." The blatant insinuation bought offended anger to the fore and before she could think she had already lashed out and slapped him across the face. He placed a hand slowly over his cheek, like he couldn't quite believe she had had the nerve to strike him. As the needling stinging sensation set in his grin set in with even more arrogance, "Act as angry as you want, I don't hear you denying it."

"Because apart from the fact I don't have to, you're not even worth explaining anything to." She spat out with venom. "So go to hell. If it wasn't for you Stu would still be here, _as champion_, while you get passed over yet again because of your arrogant stupidity." This time it was her turn for a bit of self satisfaction as his eyes glared at her with contempt at the mention of his lack of title contention lately. "What's the matter, did I hit a nerve?"

"I may be an asshole, but at least my intentions are crystal clear. You're just a hypocrite." He sneered, "You say you wanted to get into the WWE on your own merit, yet as soon as someone handed you the free pass to skip having to wallow around in development you snapped it up. You say you want to help bring credibility back to the Divas division, yet all I've seen is you burying the girls you don't like in that ring. You say you weren't interested in having the title, but as soon as Steph waved the idea in your face you jump on it."

With a final scowl in his direction she stormed off, there was probably only so many times she could get away with slapping the people she worked with or for before landing herself in trouble over it. As much as she hadn't wanted to hear it there did at least _seem_ to be some ring of truth in Randy's words. Was she really that much of a liar and a hypocrite that she couldn't even see it? Was she lying to herself about her own goals being here? One thing she had prided herself on through the years was her ability to perform and keeping her integrity intact while dealing with such a male dominated business.

When she reached her room her gaze was drawn to her ipod sitting in it's small docking station. Deciding on a play-list she turned it up loud enough so it would reach the open bathroom door and within minutes was softly singing along to Boney M's _Rasputin_. The song was older than she was but there was just something about older music that she loved, her mother would occasionally joke that musically she was born at least ten years to late. Eventually the mix of warm water and funky tunes had her recent aggravation at Orton fade away.

Some time later she had occupied a table in the corner of the hotel's restaurant perusing the breakfast menu. "What is it with you and your inability to refrain from slapping jerks?"

She grinned as she looked over the top of the menu as Phil took his seat, how fast news would travel never ceased to amaze her sometimes. "Better question is why do the jerks always seem to seek me out to be slapped?" A metallic crimson coloured nail taped next idly against the menu jacket as she narrowed down her choices. "Orton thought it would be fun to suggest that I was cheating on Stu with you."

Punk snickered at the idea as the waitress came over and they placed their orders. Waiting until she was out of earshot he eventually steered the conversation in a slightly different direction. "So do you have any idea where you want to be with this whole offer thing?"

Imogen shrugged. "Not quite. On one hand I want to stay on Raw because it's been fun travelling with Stu, despite Junior's bullshit." Idly she picked up a napkin and started folding it into random shapes, "On the other hand there's Smackdown. I have to say... I've been having an absolute blast with you guys. No McMahon, no ongoing drama in the Divas locker room. Hell as much of a prick as Randy is he's pretty much kept to himself up until this point. Before I actually decide anything though I want to talk to Stu, it is a fairly big decision."

As much as he wanted Imogen to do what would ultimately make her happy, Phil was secretly wishing she would pick Smackdown over Raw. Despite how worn out the excess travel had made her over the past couple of months it had been fun to work the same shows on a regular basis again. Even with his upcoming feud with Cody over the World Heavyweight Championship, if she did pick the brand in blue he hoped that somewhere along the line they would eventually get to work together on screen, be it teaming together or on opposing sides. "So when do you think you'll get around to that fun topic of conversation?"

"Wednesday." Imogen replied, taking a sip of coffee that finally arrived with their meals. "I'm flying back home after the Raw house show Tuesday night. Get back to Tampa at some ungodly hour, have a nap then lay all the options out on the table." Leaning back she sighed, "I hope this doesn't turn out to be one giant cluster fuck..."

Phil raised his own mug, "To the avoidance of cluster fucks, for the drama they bring is severely overrated."

With a chuckle she shared the toast, for all the good it would do...

* * *

><p>"Five years, Stu." Imogen said quietly with her arms folded across her chest. She couldn't believe he was pulling this on her, "I thought you'd give me a little more credit than that."<p>

"What the hell am I supposed to think? In the past two months you've barely called, let alone come home!" He asked, "Not only is the rumour mill going nuts but there's actual photos of you two leaving last week's show early and then you _leaving Punk's room_ while you look like you're half asleep the morning after. Then you come home and all of a sudden tell me you want to go to Smackdown permanently?"

"You know why I want to go!" She snapped back. How this had gone from a conversation about her decision on what brand to officially call home to the nasty rumours that had started up romantically linking Imogen to Phil had escaped her somehow. What baffled her even more was that Stu questioning her as to whether there was actually any truth behind the accusations. "What do you want me to do, work myself into the ground before I fuck up and break Nattie's neck because I'm to exhausted to focus properly?" Imogen's glare almost made him flinch, it was the angriest he'd ever seen her before. But it wasn't the anger that made him suddenly uncomfortable, it was the obvious hurt. She threw her hands up in exasperated frustration and rounded on him. "Ten years. Ten! Don't you think that in all that time if I wanted to hook up with Phil I would have done it long before any of this! I was behind you all the way when they had you leading the Nexus, _working both shows_, not to mention all the business with the Corre and everything else. Did I accuse you of fucking any of the Divas? No, because I _trusted_ you! Now with our positions reversed all of a sudden you can't give me the benefit of the doubt?"

Stu stayed quiet, mainly because he didn't have an answer. The harsh, blunt truths she laid out were almost akin to mental chair shots. Shame settled in on him; he was supposed to trust her, not accuse her.

As the silence grew so did her anger to the point where she thought she would choke on it. Unable to stand the confines of being inside she grabbed her phone and wallet that where sitting between them on the kitchen counter. "You know what? Fuck this and fuck you." Storming through the house the front door slammed with a bang behind her.

When he heard the engine of her car start he bolted in pursuit, "Imogen, wait!" He watched as the car squealed out onto the street, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Right now she just wanted make him hurt as much as she was and so venomously yelled the first thing that sprung to her mind. "_CHICAGO! It's where everyone expects me to be, so I'd hate to disappoint them all!_" The old Impala roared as it took of, tires screaming as she took the corner harshly and disappeared.

Stu watched helplessly as the faint trail of smoke from the burnt rubber wafted away in the morning breeze with the sound if the old muscle car quickly fading away. He didn't know what had possessed him to even entertain the idea that the rumours were true. He had becoming so bored and frustrated with the amount of time he had to spend here letting himself heal. Throw on top of that the lack of contact between both of them during that time had left his imagination take his common sense hostage as more and more stories surfaced before last week's pictures had surfaced on the web. It wasn't until that point that reality came knocking and showed him just how wrong he had been.

Walking back into the house he stood in the lounge room, not knowing what to do at that point. His own anger and frustration flared, making him want to lash out at something, anything. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey carried on with wild antics, the comedy serving to only piss him off more in his current state. With a bellow he grabbed the nearest object and hurled it at the TV as hard as he could, the plasma screen falling from it's fittings and crashed onto the floor, sparking in a spectacular fashion as it died.

* * *

><p>Imogen looked out the cab window up at the apartment building, her destination waiting for her on the upper floors. As the cabbie rattled off the total fair she absently slipped him a bill that more than covered it, waving off the excess change without a word. The cab driver wasn't going to argue, the woman had handed him a Benjamin Franklin when the fair was only forty odd bucks. He retrieved the small case she had with her from the trunk and wished her a good day.<p>

Imogen entered the building with the spare key in her possession and into the somewhat cramped elevator and pushed the button for the appropriate floor, watching as the numbers climbed before reaching its destination. Finally feeling as if her cross country journey was over she knocked on the door and was greeted by a surprised yet warm, familiar face. "Cal! Great to see you!" When she didn't react with her usual exuberant response he became concerned, but he thought he could have a good guess at why. Stepping aside he ushered her inside and closed the door. "What's wrong, hon?"

Imogen looked up at Scott Colton before dropping the pack in her hand and hugged him. Finally, in the safety and privacy of Colt Cabana's home, the tears that she had denied through sheer will power through the hour and a half wait at Tampa's domestic airport right through the entire trip finally escaped. "I didn't know where else to go."

* * *

><p><em>Heh, I bet you all thought it was going to be the Punkster, didn't you? Truth be told I wanted to work Colt in here somehow, what better time than now? And hopefully I delivered a little on some of that building drama I promised... <em>

_Peace!_


	16. Chapter 16

"_So you fought, she dives off and ends up in Chicago." The detective said as he recapped the story thus far, "What happened after that? Did you contact her at any point afterward?"_

_Stu closed his eyes, he just wanted to leave but knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. "We didn't talk to each other for several weeks. I tried calling her a few times but was either sent directly to voice mail or she just wouldn't answer, so I decided to leave the ball in her court for a couple of weeks. When she was ready to talk she could call me." Despite the situation he couldn't help the soft snort of amusement, "When she's decided to stick to her guns on something you've a better chance of moving a mule." _

"_I see. What happened with the business over her contract, where did she end up?"_

_Eyes still closed a heavy, resigned sigh escaped him. Looking back on it all he could see she had made the right choice; the one that made her happy. Over the years he had learned to get a glimpse of whatever mood she was in whenever she competed, certain subtle tells making themselves evident in her overall attitude or a particular move Imogen would pull off if you knew what to look for. She had been focusing once more and her performances that had been average under her previous double duty workload once again shined now she had the proper time to simply stop and take a moment while on the road. Though instead of coming home on her days off she was still insistent on staying with Scott for a while. Straightening up in his chair once more he continued on with the interview. "To be honest I think she had made up her mind before she even came home to talk about it, whether she was fully aware of it or not..."_

* * *

><p>"Are you sure that's what you want?"<p>

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't."

"It's one hell of an opportunity you're giving up though."

"I know, but look at it from where I'm standing. The ground I'm on is a little tenuous as it is and if I take the title off Nattie now it wont help at all." Imogen explained to Stephanie, who was sitting on the opposite side of a desk in the arena office from the challenger and champion. "I'm not stupid, I know why your brother hired me and it wasn't for my skill. If I get the title now it's just going to look really bad, I'm already getting enough flak from the dirt sheets as well as god knows where else."

Stephanie was silent for a moment, silently acknowledging that since Wrestlemania there had been some rather nasty rumours beginning to circulate once the made it onto the web. There could only be so much until it would get the better of anyone, no matter how thick their skin was. The most recent being a fabricated relationship between herself and Brooks, which had not been fun for either party. _God knows how that one got started_, Steph mused. "Alright, I can respect that. So what do you suggest we do then?"

Imogen smiled, "Nattie and I have been talking about that. The whole point of this was to give her a huge babyface push, correct?"

Stephanie nodded and Natalya continued with the idea the two women had come up with. "We let people believe that she really is going to beat me for the title. Like she's at least one step ahead of me at every turn. Whether I win a match or not, it somehow turns to Callisto's favour. When it looks like it's going to be my darkest hour when the title is on the line we have a huge match and despite whatever she throws at me in the duration I'm the clear winner."

Their explanation was like a well versed tag team, when Nattie was done Imogen jumped in once again. "The thing is to make this really work we're going to need decent air time for the matches we have between now and then to build momentum." The brunette pressed, "I know in the grand scheme of things we don't bring in anywhere near as much money as say, Cena or Orton. We're not even asking for a ridiculously huge timeslot for our matches, even just five or ten minutes at most should do it, and I can guarantee you people will tune in to watch us go at it. We know each other so well we'll put on a veritable clinic each and every match we get."

"We could be this era's... Trish and Lita, if you want a good comparison." Natalya finished up. "People have been saying that they want to give credibility back to the women's division. Imi and I can do that, we just need a little time to build it up right."

Stephanie leaned back in her chair and had to admit, the idea sounded good. "I like it." She said with a smile, "We'll run with it." Turning her attention to Imogen she became serious again. "With that sorted though, I'm going to need a decision on what brand you want to stay on, Imogen."

She didn't answer right away, the memory of her last discussion with Stu looming over her. When she finally did answer it was quiet, the word not quite free of the bitterness she felt. "Smackdown."

Stephanie studied the younger woman for a moment, the tone in which she had replied with not going unnoticed. "Are you absolutely sure? Once it's finalised there's no changing it for quite some time."

"Yeah," Imogen answered with a tone of reluctant finality. "I'm sure."

"Alright then." Steph replied, pushing forward one of two amended contracts that had been beside her across the table. "Take your time to read and sign where indicated, then you're officially part of Smackdown. I'm sure Teddy will be pleased to hear it."

Imogen read through the contract, which seemed standard for the most part. Only now it wasn't Shane having power over her matches, it was Teddy Long. From the few conversations she had with the man he seemed to come across as firm but fair and couldn't see any foreseen problems working under his management. Despite what she would be leaving behind on Raw a small smile ghosted the corners of her mouth; she was now free of Shane McMahon. By becoming part of the Smackdown roster he had no say as to who or what sort of match she could compete in. With a quick scribble of the pen the contract was signed and Imogen passed the papers back. With the deal done the two Divas took their leave and headed down the hall.

Eventually the pair ended up in the stands overlooking the ring crew and technicians going about their business, a companionable silence descending on them for a time before Natalya spoke up first. "So... why did it sound like you were pulling teeth when telling Steph you wanted to stay here?"

"It was that obvious, huh?"

"Just a little."

With a sigh Imogen bought her boots to rest on the chair in front of her as stared up at the lighting rig high above the ring. "I went home Wednesday to talk this whole thing over with Stu, then up came the topic of all those stupid rumours going around that I'm screwing around with Punkster while Stu's out on injury... I think a part of him actually suspects they're true. He confronted me about it, we argued and long story short I told him it's all bullshit and he should get his head out of his ass. Does he really think that after five years I'm all of a sudden going to turn around and fuck one of my best friends while he's not on the road with me?"

Nattie's heart went out to the woman beside her as anger and resentment briefly flashed across Imogen's features, putting an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick reassuring squeeze. "So... what happened after?"

"I sort of... kinda... told him to fuck himself... And that I was going to Chicago."

"Wait, what?" Natalya looked across at the brunette like she had a potential screw loose. "So even with all the crap going on the first person you go running to was Phil?"

"No!" Imogen exclaimed, "I may not be the sharpest knife in the draw sometimes, Nattie, but I'm not _that_ stupid." Feeling uncomfortable in her current position she again shifted in her chair. "Actually Phil doesn't even know about any of this, or my trip to Chicago, and I'd like to keep it that way... for now at any rate. I ended up going to see Scott and crashed at his place for a couple of days while he went to wrestle a few shows in LA. Although now he's roped me into doing an _Art of Wrestling_ podcast soon as a way of returning the favour, so that ought to be interesting in itself."

They slipped into silence again when she wasn't forthcoming with anything more than the explanation already given. When Imogen had finally gotten the whole story out to him, Scott said she was free to stay at his place for as long as she needed to while everything got sorted out and it was a gesture Imogen appreciated immensely. Out of the pair of them Colt was more laid back and less likely to get confrontational over it to Stu than Punk would be; so for the time being at least, the apartment of Colt Cabana was a neutral ground. Yet despite Imogen knowing she couldn't put off sorting this latest mess out for long, the stubborn pride was adamant that on this particular subject she should make Stu stew for a while. Juvenile, she admitted, but a part of her wasn't quite ready to face the whole thing yet. The fact the he had even entertained the idea that the ridiculous rumours were true hurt and wasn't going to go away any time soon.

Right now though she had a job to do and an angle to focus on, which was exactly what she planned to do.

* * *

><p><em>Nikki Bella clutched at the small of her back as she leaned in on her sister for support after experiencing the gruelling submission that was the Sharpshooter. Natalya celebrated her successful title retention in the ring, holding the prize high as she stood atop the turn-buckle as Callisto slid into the ring and grinned wolfishly as she focused on the Divas champion. As soon as Natalya jumped down from her perch and turned around she doubled over from a brutal kick from the devious Diva that had accompanied her ringside. Ignoring the admonishment by the surprised referee Callisto went one step further, nailing the Canadian with a hart hitting DDT. Picking up the discarded title belt the villainous vixen held it high with a self serving smirk down at the helpless Hart and then at the camera before tossing it onto the canvas next to a dazed Natalya and left the ring.<em>

Shane looked at the TV in disgust as Smackdown went to a commercial, he couldn't remember the last time he had been so completely and utterly outplayed. Even with starting the rumours about Campbell and Brooks hadn't been enough to force her into thinking that jumping brands was a bad idea. Sipping at expensive scotch in one hand he sat in an equally expensive looking recliner and rested his chin on his closed fist and began to brood. With the two Divas now officially on Smackdown there was no real reason for Imogen to compete at all on Raw, especially since the only person on-screen she had really been tied to as an ally was Bennett. He was determined to win this little power struggle of dominance and he'd make sure Imogen rued the day she tried to upset the balance of power in the WWE.

* * *

><p>A few weeks had passed since Callisto's initial attack on Natalya and the fans had really gotten into the story the two women told inside the squared circle and was one of the most anticipated women's matches in years. In a rare decision Teddy had allowed the women their desire of a submission match and at first the fans thought this would give the champion the edge, until Callisto had displayed her own talent for punishing submissions by utilising a crucifix kneebar on Brie Bella the show just days before the Pay Per View. With Primo and Epico looking to win their rematch for the tag titles and Cody having cashed in his MITB contract five weeks before hand, Smackdown had their part of the stage set for one great night of wrestling across the board. As much hype as there was going around though, Imogen didn't feel as excited as she knew she should have been.<p>

The distraction of work, along with the podcast she had gotten around to doing with Scott, had kept her sufficiently distracted; which she took as a minor blessing. She had found doing the 'interview', which really was just more of an hour long recording of a conversation between two friends, to be somewhat therapeutic. They had talked about everything from training under her father through to her years on the indy scene along with her time in Japan and how she first met Punk and himself then her time at SHIMMER before eventually winding up where she was now. It had also given her a chance to set the record straight on all the all the misinformation and straight out lies that had been doing the rounds on the dirt sheets. While she could have dragged Shane's name straight through the mud, which was highly appealing, she had enough foresight to see that it would more than likely be an unwise choice career-wise. It's like she had told Paul, just because one man was being a jack-ass shouldn't mean that the entire company had to suffer for it. Besides now that she had moved shows there seemed to be a bit of normalcy setting in, or at least how much of it you could get while working in the world of professional wrestling.

By the time Summerslam arrived she was at least focused on the night ahead, even if she wasn't entirely a bucket full of sunshine and lolly-pops. As good friends as they were, Imogen turned down Nattie's offer to share a room. A part of her always preferred to have as much time by herself before a title match and rooming with the friend who was also champion wouldn't help her getting into that competitive mindset where Callisto resided. Somewhat used to this behaviour Natalya simply accepted it and chose to split her hotel bill with Milena Roucka, AKA Rosa Mendez. It was going to be one hell of a match.

The evening of the show backstage was buzzing with energy. While Vince hadn't been on screen since getting 'fired' by Triple H on his last Raw appearance the Chairman would still attend the more major PPV's of the year to see how things were going. The organised chaos of the many techs, messengers and other staff gave the old man a sense of pride as he observed them going about their assigned tasks. It may be his company but it took far more than one man to make sure the machine that was the WWE ran smoothly. Calling into the office his son in law greeted him with a firm handshake and gave him the run down on any last minute changes that were occurring. Satisfied with the job Paul was doing he bought up one rather notable absence since he had arrived, "Where's Shane? He should have been here by now."

"He called earlier, said he wasn't making it." Paul replied, hand absently rubbing the back of his neck as he looked slightly awkward as he debated on if he should tell Vince the rest of it. "To be honest... he sounded like he may have had a few."

The look on Vince's face was decidedly unimpressed. They had worked so hard over the years to try and clean up the WWF image old about rampant drug and excessive alcohol abuse, whether such claims had been true or not; if Shane showed up drunk it would not be a good look. The old man shook his head, while Shane not showing up inebriated would be a good thing, he would have to have a few words with his first born about business priorities. Setting it aside to deal with if or when it became a problem he turned his attention to other things as the two men left the office and strolled down the hall. "The situation with Miss Campbell has finally settled down I take it?"

"As much as it's going to." The Game answered. Another thing Boy Wonder hadn't been happy with which in turn satisfied Paul immensely. "Since her workload has been halved and she jumped to Smackdown on a permanent basis the quality of her matches has improved again, the bouts between herself and Niedhart have really been picking up. I really think in perhaps another month or two we should give her a run with the title." Weaving past a couple of people doing something with computers they continued on. Paul knew about Shane's ideas to make Victoria the next champ but quite frankly didn't care. "Opinionated as she is, she's also smart, Vince. She could've completely buried Shane in that podcast she did with that friend of hers but chose to take the high road."

The chairman simply nodded in approval, it could be a somewhat rare commodity to maintain a hold on one's moral compass after basking in the bright lights. The fact that Imogen had was not something he would forget any time soon. While she may have been hired for the entirely wrong reasons it seemed as though it had been an unexpected boon keeping her on contract. The pair continued on down the hall discussing somewhat other matters and future ideas as they went.

* * *

><p>The Divas championship match was in full swing and both women ached head to toe. Natalya had very much lived up to her own family's legacy in a wrestling wring, showing she knew the inside of the ring just as well as her challenger and was just as tough as her own famous father, Jim 'The Anvil' Niedhart. Knowing each other as well as they did the two took a chance to do some improvisations and took it to the outside, Nattie catching Callisto as the devious diva took to the air from the turn buckle, or a turning of the tide where the Canadian caught her challenger off guard before scooping her up and dropping her across the barricade. As entertaining as it was however, the duo took one chance to many.<p>

Callisto, while just as happy on the ground as Natalya was, was also more inclined to take to the air and take the higher risks for the bigger impact and work at a faster pace; as the champion had more of the power advantage and preferred a more methodical approach. This would prove to be her downfall as for the fourth time during the match Callisto once again ascended the ropes in search of something to really put the hurt on the champ, waiting for the most opportune moment as she eyed her off intently. Natalya slowly turned to face the lurking lady, barely managing to get out of the way as she struck. Instead of eating the canvas Callisto attempted to land on her feet and simply roll across to the other corner with the momentum. The landing was awkward however, something in her left knee protesting vehemently causing her to crash ungraciously onto the mat with hands instinctively clutching at the blooming pain as Callisto curled up.

At the sharp cry of pain at Imogen's landing Nattie stopped where she was, trying her best to hide the concern over the potential injury. To buy a few precious second of time for the ref to check on the challenger she played up to the crowd to which they ate up with glee. Slowly the heel got to her feet as she clawed at the ropes to pull herself upright and their eyes locked; despite the amount of time they had left the match had to end now, it was obvious that Callisto couldn't stay standing for long. Heavily favouring her right leg she did her best to fend off Natalya's incoming assault for what little good it did as she went down for the last time, Nattie springing on the opportunity for the Sharpshooter like a lightning bolt. Resisting for only a few seconds Callisto's hand slapped the mat as she tapped, the pain only magnified in the awkward angle of the submission.

With the help of the ref Justin King and one of the techs Imogen managed to get backstage and was left in the care of the trainers, who promptly strapped up her swollen knee before putting it on ice. A few minutes later Nattie showed up to see what was going on, "What's the damage?"

"Not sure, think I twisted it, they'll know more once they X-ray it... Lucky me, I get to spend the night in a hospital." Imogen replied gingerly as she tried to sit up a little straighter, then shrugged. "That's what I get for trying to show off one to many times I guess. Only thing that really bums me out is I don't get to see Punk and Cody go at it."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you all about it tomorrow." Natalya patted her shoulder and offered a smile, "Guess that means drinks are off for tonight."

"Yeah, well, there's always a next time. Punkster will just have to make fun of you guys on his own." Their attention shifted as the EMT's came in to take her out of the arena. As the Canadian helped Imogen to her feet the exchanged a quick hug before she left. "My chariot awaits. Catch you in the AM, Nattie."

Unbeknown to any of them the night was to soon change, and not for the better...

* * *

><p><em>There we have it people. Things are finally going to come to a head next chapter, so hold onto your hats!<em>

_Also, on an entirely unrelated note, I decided to have a little fun and start something that will (hopefully) be a collections of stories based on ideas that people can challenge me with. If you're feeling so inclined hit up my profile page and take a look at the details if this sounds like something you might be interested in being a part of._

_Peace!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Reader discretion is advised here folks, it's going to get very dark with this one. You have been warned._

* * *

><p>It was close to midnight when Imogen finally made it back to the hotel room and was more than happy to sink into the covers. As tired and sore as she was though, she was also hungry. Looking over at the night stand she reached out for the phone in the hope room service was still available. Luckily the travelling gods were feeling benevolent- since the hotel knew they had more then a couple of wrestlers booking out their rooms they had extended the kitchen hours. When she was done all she had to do was play the waiting game until her burger and juice arrived, so she picked up the TV remote to idly begin flicking through the channels and grinned when she found and old Kurt Russell movie on. <em>Overboard<em> was one of the few romantic comedies she actually enjoyed and mused if it was because Kurt and his partner Goldie Hawn were still together after all these years. She simply shrugged and dismissed the thought, as absolutely terrible as it was the movie sure as hell beat watching 'reality' show reruns of _The Bachelor_ or _Survivor_.

When room service arrived it took her a moment to hobble over to the door. It was nice that the pain killers were kicking in to a point but it still hurt like a bitch. After giving the bell boy a tip and a quick autograph -he had not only recognised who she was but turned out to be a Callisto fan, happy to find out that the damage to her knee wasn't going to keep her out of action for long- she settled down on the end of the bed and once settled in a comfortable spot attacked her food. Having seen the movie several times her mind began to wander as she only gave it a fraction of her attention, wondering what she was going to do for the next couple of weeks. The doctor said while she had been lucky to escape any career threatening damage he wasn't going to clear her for competition for at least two weeks. Maybe it was life's way of telling her it was more than time to deal with the elephant in the corner, a quick glance at the half a dozen missed calls from a certain number only confirming the line of thought.

It was decided then- tomorrow morning she would book a flight home and sort out this thing with Stu and see where things went from there. Besides it was the middle of summer and she couldn't think of a better way to spend some time off than in the Florida sunshine relaxing by a pool. With her belly now full and the choice made it seemed as if a particular weight came off her shoulders and before she knew it had fallen asleep as Kurt Russell set out on a boat to chase Goldie Hawn once the pair had admitted to themselves that they really had fallen in love with each other.

Imogen woke with a start at the sound of someone persistently thumping on her door, it felt like she had only closed her eyes for five minutes since getting back from the hospital. Glancing over at the alarm clock through sleep blurred eyes she could just make out that it was only three thirty in the morning and mentally demanded that whoever was out there had better have a good excuse for such an abrupt wake up call. Stumbling out of bed and promising to impose bodily harm to the person on the other side she opened the door mid yawn, "The building better be on fire..." She was cut off mid sentence, harshly shoved back and landed sprawled out on the floor as it slammed shut behind the intruder and he room was plunged once again into near darkness, the only light was that thrown off from the television set that was still on.

A drunk Shane stood there for a moment, unsteadily swaying on his feet as he looked down at the startled and now frightened woman trying to scramble to her feet before he lunged. One arm entrapped her waist as he clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming before snatching it back with a hiss as she bit down on the flesh. He retaliated, spinning her to face him and landing a hard palm across her face. "Fucking bitch!" The impact caused her to stumble back a pace or two before he grabbed her again, dragging her so she was crushed up against him with her arms pinned by her sides, "I told you, Imogen, I always get what I want. I'm Shane fucking McMahon, and you will learn your place!" He declared.

Imogen fought for all she was worth, feeling his rock hard arousal pressing against her and bringing with it the terrifying realisation of what he was planning to do. She never, in her wildest nightmares, would have thought he would resort to this; drunk or not. Suddenly his lips crashed against hers and she fought the urge to be sick from the taste of beer and tequila. In desperation she bought her knee up and caught him with a glancing blow, the injury earlier in the night causing her more pain than what she was trying to dish out. He loosened his grip with a grunt and she fought her way free, scrambling across the bed to snatch up her cell, fingers missing it by mere inches and knocking the small night stand to the floor when he clutched her ankle and yanked her back. Twisting onto her back she took a swing at him, catching him on the left side of his jaw only to cop another back hand in return.

For a third time she stuck him as hard as she could, this time catching him just under the eye and he growled. Her vision exploded into stars with the impact of his answering shot, dazing her. His hands roughly ran up her skin under her top before pushing the cotton material out of his way but Imogen clawed at him, trying desperately to get him off her. Frustrated with her constant struggling he gripped the taped knee and squeezed hard, refusing to let go again his hand clamped over her mouth, muting the cry as her body twisted and thrashed in a futile effort to get away from the grip that was causing further damage. With a bit of effort he finally managed to get himself in the most ideal position, looking down at his handy work and smirked; after months of dodging and avoiding him whenever possible he had finally cornered her. She would now learn who had all the power in the game. Slowly he ran his tongue over her skin, after such a hard fought chase a woman had never tasted so good.

Tears pricked at Imogen's eyes, she couldn't believe this was happening. After months that she had shot him down and told him no outright, she hadn't spotted the signs of his ever looming obsession and now it had cost her dearly. She cried as she felt his hands roughly travelling over her body, molesting her and fingers digging into her thighs when he ripped away her panties before he reclaimed his hold on her knee to keep the control. She shut her eyes tightly at the sound of his unclasping belt buckle wishing that she was at home, or spending the night rooming with Nattie like she had offered or even stranded in the middle of a desert; any place but where she currently was. Reality came crashing in around her with one swift and forceful stroke and she screamed again at the violation.

Shane groaned, feeling the unbelievable tightness that was wrapped around his manhood; it felt so damn good as he began to move with hard, slow thrusts. His tempo increased and soon the sound of flesh on flesh resonated around the room. Her continuing struggling now just served to excite him even further, the pace becoming fast and unrelenting as he chased all consuming precipice that he was baring down on. "Oh... fuck..."

Imogen's brain went numb as her body started going into shock, unable to accept what had just transpired as Shane pulled out, casually put himself back in his pants and stumbled drunkenly out of the room. For a time she didn't move before finally something inside gave way, unleashing a torrent of emotions and slowly curled up as the tears fell with wracking sobs in the darkness.

* * *

><p>"Oh my god, you're not supposed to be back yet!"<p>

"Shh, it's a surprise." Stu smirked, giving a surprised Nattie a hug as she came up to him. After watching their match last night and not having any of his calls returned he had had enough and decided that if Imogen wasn't going to come to him then he would go to her. "Do you know if Imogen is still in her room?"

The Canadian Diva shook her head, "Haven't seen her at all this morning, probably still in her room sleeping in since she isn't allowed to compete for the next two weeks."

Stu frowned, this whole thing was turning out to be a case of for every one step forward the next to were going backwards. The duo got into the elevator and rode it up to the appropriate floor and walked down the hall.

"Oh Caaaal." Natalya sung out as she went to knock on the door, only to have it creak open when she did. The pair looked at each other with concerned expressions; something wasn't right.

Alarm bells went off in Stu's head, she was _never_ that careless as to leave the door to a hotel room unlocked, let alone not even closed properly. Brushing his way past Nattie he went in, fighting the rising panic as he took in the disarray of what was usually a tidy scene. Broken ceramic from a lamp that had been sitting on the knocked over table, blood stained the twisted bed sheets... Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something on the floor as Neidhart crossed the space to check the bathroom, kneeling down to pick it up his stomach dropped when he realised what it was. His head shot up from the torn underwear in his hand at Natalya's sharp gasp before the woman went in.

"Imogen?"

One leg hugged up to her chest and head resting on her crossed arms, Nat found her staring vacantly into space as she sat in the middle of the tub, water pouring down from the shower head. Slowly the blond approached, kneeling down when she reached the side of the bath and she reached out to lay a hand on her friend's shoulder, the marks and bruises on her naked flesh horrifying her. However as soon as Nattie's fingers touched Imogen the reaction she got was as sudden as it was chaotic.

"Don't fucking touch me!" She screamed with wild eyes, backing away as far as the bath would allow, water violently splashing everywhere.

"Easy, Imi, easy!" Natalya said, trying to get through the hysterical haze. Her hands firmly came to rest on Imogen's shoulders as she continued to talk to her. "No-one is going to hurt you now."

Finally her gazed focused on the blond in front of her. "... Nattie?"

"That right." She replied, trying to make her voice sound as soothing as possible. Reaching over, Natalya turned of the water and grabbed a towel. "Who did this to you?" She asked carefully, draping the soft cotton around the brunette's shoulders, the gentle reassuring actions bringing the distraught woman to tears. But before the brunette could reply however a sound came from the doorway, both of the women looking up to find a stunned Brit.

Stu stood stock still for a moment, not quite believing what his eyes were showing him. Scrapes and dark purple bruises marred her biceps and legs, her injured knee angrily red and swollen before he took in her face with bruised cheeks and a black eye of her own. A burning, overwhelming anger began to rapidly consume him, his body trembled and fists clenched with absolute rage. She didn't have to tell him who attacked her in such a vile manner because he instinctively knew the answer. The sound of blood rang in his ears like white noise, blocking out Natalya as she called for him to stay has he stalked out of the room on a mission to hunt down the one responsible for even thinking of hurting his girl and make him pay.

Stu Bennett was going to kill Shane McMahon.

* * *

><p>Phil was sitting at a table enjoying breakfast with Cody and Tony when his phone rang, grinning when he looked at the caller ID. "Cal! What's happening?"<p>

"_Phil, it's Natalya, **please** tell me you're in the hotel."_

His mood shifted immediately at the tone of her voice. Natalya was usually easy going, but something had her sounding both very angry and worried at the same time. "Yeah, I'm downstairs having a bite with Rhodes and Carelli. Why, what's wrong?"

"_Can you see McMahon junior anywhere?" _She asked, ignoring the question.

He scanned the room and noticed Shane hiding in the darkest corner of the room, "He's here, looks like he had one hell of a rough night to." Phil narrowed his eyes as he examined the Raw GM more closely, noticing the shiner he was sporting. "Who the hell smacked him?"

"_Listen to me, Phil. Stu is here and on the way down to the lobby. You can't let him reach Shane or Bennett is going to kill him."_ She explained with a sense of urgency, _"But for god's sake make sure McMahon doesn't leave the building, because the cops are going to pick him up."_

"What the hell is going on, Nattie?" Punk demanded, he was confused and didn't like the way this conversation was turning out. "Why would Bennett want to-." At that moment he spotted the large Brit burst into the room, finding the man who was the focus of his ire and charged, the trio of Superstars to far away to stop Stu's attack. "Oh shit!"

McMahon didn't see Stu until it was to late and the look of absolute unforgiving fury on the other man's face scared the shit out of him. He had been sitting there trying to piece together what the hell he had done last night and just how he had woken up with a black eye and a jaw that was sore as hell that had accompanied the hangover her awoke with. He remembered vague flashes, a woman involved somewhere; but in what context he couldn't remember until the visage of the completely enraged Englishman closed in on him fast. Jumping out of his seat he tried to put as much distance in between them as possible, "Stu, wait! I can explain!"

"_Don't you even fucking try._" Stu snarled just as his fist connected full force with the side of Shane's face, sending the other man reeling. A second followed, the right cross sending McMahon on his ass and Stu followed; thunderous shots raining down on him like ten ton hammers, Bennett showing exactly why he had been a bare knuckle champion. In the back of his mind he could hear the reaction to the chaos that his merciless actions wrought -people yelling for the cops, dumbfounded, horrified expressions of 'oh my god!' and so on- but his world had narrowed to just beating the complete and utter hell out of the man under him until he couldn't move. He suddenly felt hands on him, pulling him off and away from the man whom he wanted dead.

"What the _holy fuck_, Bennett?" Phil exclaimed, with a tight grip on his right arm while Tony grabbed his left and Cody hooked him into something that looked a little like a full nelson to drag him away. With a quick glance at the prone and bloodied man on the floor he knew Shane wasn't going anywhere; he'd be lucky if he was still breathing. It took all they had to drag the former WWE champion out of the room who fought his eviction every inch of the way. The police arrived just as they had gotten him out of the hotel's restaurant, taking over from the three confused wrestlers. Phil spotted a shell shocked Glamazon get off the elevator and was determined to get answers. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's Imogen." Beth replied with some difficulty, watching as the EMTs passed them with the prone General Manager on a stretcher and anger of her own flashed across her eyes. She had been coming out of her own room when she had seen Stu's retreating back march toward the elevator as Nattie had called after him pleadingly to no avail. Wondering what was wrong she had approached her fellow Diva of Doom and after a quick explanation had gone after the Englishman while Niedhart stayed behind.

"What about Cal?" Phil demanded with rising apprehension, both his hands coming to rest firmly on her shoulders, bringing her attention back to him. "For gods sake, tell us."

"Shane... he..." She halted, fighting to give voice to what Punk wanted to know. Taking a deep breath she plunged onward, "I think you'll need to sit down for this..."

* * *

><p><em>Well, there it is... told you it was dark. I've had this sitting around for a while now and have been tweaking it here and there for weeks, so I'm glad I finally had the chance to use it.<em>

_You know what to do from here peeps!_


	18. Chapter 18

_This was frikkin **hard** to write... _

_It seems to be that point where it could easily go south and end up all Mary Sue-ish. I'm hoping to avoid that particular black hole but with the range of emotions that would be plaguing everyone involved it's no doubt going to get a tad complicated, so bare with me from here on in._

_Peace!_

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><p>Phil Brooks was <em>livid<em>.

Actually livid didn't even begin to describe the anger and frustration at not being able to do anything about the current situation, so everyone gave the Straight Edge Superstar a wide berth whenever they saw him as to not become the focus of his attention. Even Randy, who normally didn't give a rats arse about anyone, had enough decency to stay silent. Paul Levesque however sucked it up and stepped up to face the former World Heavyweight champion head on. The past few minutes had quite possibly have been the hardest in his life as Punk unloaded vehemently on the older man.

"Punk..." Paul said calmly as he watched Phil pace back and forth across his office floor like a highly dangerous animal after his initial tirade subsided. "No-one could've predicted this."

Bullshit." Punk spat venomously, "I warned you. The Garcia's warned you. Hell, _even Barbie eventually warned you_!" His fists slammed down hard onto the desktop. "And _none_ of you that were in the position to do something did _**ANYTHING**_!" In a surge of anger he gripped the desk and abruptly flipped it over, "Give me one god damn good reason why I don't go finish what Bennett started!"

"Because it's not going to do Campbell any good at all if you go and get yourself locked up for doing something stupid in the heat of the moment." He said slowly, "Right now, whether she knows it or not, that woman is going to need those closest to her now more than ever- she's going to need you. Being in a cell isn't exactly the best way to go about that now, is it?"

Phil had no reply to this, he simply stood in the middle of the room as he shook with impotent anger. He wanted so badly to exact a measure of payback on someone, anyone, to bring some measure of his own idea of justice. It was a well known fact that despite his own faults when it came to women CM Punk saw them as something to be revered and respected. Any individual who treated them the way Shane had should be dealt with in severely. However... Paul had a point. With this mental admittance of fact something inside Brooks seemed to deflate as his shoulders slumped and the palms of his hands pressed down on his temples. Imogen hadn't talked to anyone bar the cops and her parents, let alone allowed anyone to go near her and was driving him crazy. He loved Imogen as much as he did his own sister Shellyn and the thought of something like this happening to either one was more than distressing.

Paul eyed him somewhat warily as Phil's mood abruptly changed from explosive anger to his current defeated state. What had happened had sent a shock wave through everyone backstage, whether they all got along or not. To say Punk hadn't been taking it well could quite possibly be the understatement of the year. A heavy silence reigned until the Cerebral Assassin broke it with an equally heavy sigh, "I'm not going to force you to compete if you don't want to, Brooks. We both know it's not where your mind is right now, so take some time off if you feel you need it."

The Chicago native merely nodded, this whole thing was a cluster fuck and he had no idea how he could help fix it. "I'll let you know by the end of the night." Was all he said as he went for the door, then turned to look back at Levesque, "And thanks."

Once Phil had left Paul allowed himself to relax a little as he ran a hand over his head and looked at the upturned furniture, feeling as if this was merely the calm before a storm.

Phil stalked down the hall, though not with the same previous hostility he had when he went to see Levesque, when he noticed the budding commotion up ahead. Eve and Victoria seemed to have ambushed Barbie while she was by herself. Inwardly he groaned, he really didn't want to be anywhere near any drama caused by any of the Divas at this point. He turned to find a different way back to the men's locker room when the actual topic of what they were arguing over made it to within his earshot.

Barbie couldn't believe what she was hearing from her former friends. "What in god's name is _wrong_ with you two?" She started, "How in the _hell_ do you even come to the 'she asked for it' conclusion?"

"Oh come on, Barbie. How else do you explain her getting a title shot so quickly?" Victoria sneered, adamant that the title shot at Summerslam should have been hers, not Imogen's.

"You're wrong, she wouldn't do that."

"What are you, best friends or something all of a sudden?" Eve spat as she rounded on the lone blond woman next, "At least when you fucked Shane you made no attempt to hide why, and not make up some attention seeking lie."

"No, we're not friends." Barbie replied through clenched teeth before glaring at Victoria, "But I do know that it was you that had been taking those pics of her and Punk, so you're the last one who can say anything about morality, Vicky."

"Oh please, like you wouldn't have done the same given the opportunity." The would be Divas contender scoffed.

Perhaps at the start of things that would have been the truth, Barbie admitted to herself. But that was a different person, she could now see just how immature and degrading the whole thing with McMahon had been and vowed never to be that woman again. Between the support of Paul Wight and the extra training she had been getting from Dean Melenko she had found a liberating strength and confidence in herself that she never would have thought existed, and in some weird, round about way she had Imogen to thank for it. "At one time, maybe, but not any more. Bottom line is Shane is an obsessive and controlling bastard who if he can't have what he wants will try and destroy it. If you want to make the same stupid mistakes I did then fine, just don't think that everyone has the same mindset that you do."

Something in Victoria seemed to snap and her hand swung back to strike out at the former Divas champion, only to have her wrist in the firm grip of Punk's tattooed hand. "I'm only going to say this once, Crawford, so you both better damn well listen. I don't ever want to hear your conniving, scheming mouths trashing Cal ever again." His hard gaze held her own startled deer in the headlights look before he released his grip, "We clear?"

"Crystal." She answered with a gulp. While all three knew that he would never actually hurt any of them, the calm but cold demeanour of the Superstar was still enough to give Eve and Victoria food for thought as they scurried off.

Barbie eyed Punk, not quite sure what to do. In the past he had made no secret that he didn't like her, so having him step in to make the save was a surprise. Tentatively she reached out and gently laid a hand on his bicep, his attention changing from boring a hole at the corner where the two women had disappeared around to the third they had been trying to bully. "Thanks." She began somewhat awkwardly, not sure if she should continue. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do just let me know."

Punk simply nodded and set off for his original destination of the locker room, leaving Barbie to her own devices. The Diva ran her fingers through her long hair as she exhaled the nervous breath she had been holding and leaned back against the wall, the whole situation was getting weirder by the day...

* * *

><p>Shane winced as the setting sunlight from the window beamed down onto the bed he was currently occupying in the private hospital room. Groggy and confused the only thing that registered at first was the constant throbbing of pain and stiffness that seemed to encase his being, despite the medication, forcing him to cease any attempt to sit up with a groan. He began to wonder just how long he had been lying there when a voice interrupted his thoughts. "I see you're finally awake."<p>

Shane turned to look into the partially obscured stoic and unreadable face of his father, long shadows playing across the senior McMahon's features. "Dad? Ugh... what happened? How long have I been here?"

"Stu Bennett happened, you've been here for three days." Vince answered, his tone quiet, even and measured. "You're damn lucky he didn't kill you."

"Ben-." Shane stopped mid word as his cloudy mind suddenly snapped back to crystal clear realisation and the memories came flooding back. The cold feeling of fear began to knot in the pit of his stomach as he vividly recalled the look of the absolute firestorm of rage that had possessed the Englishman and drove the unforgiving beating he unloaded in him. Vince couldn't have been any more correct, he was damn lucky that he wasn't dead. "Where is he now?" Shane asked, unable to quite keep the evident worry from is query.

Vince didn't answer right away as several excruciating emotions warred inside for dominance of his faculties; anger, shame, confusion. It was taking a huge amount of effort to simply keep up the calm facade he projected. "Nowhere you have to worry about right now."

"Don't have to..." Shane repeated in exasperation, "Dad, the guy tried to kill me!"

The old man's eyes narrowed at his son's selfish self preservation and crossed over to the side of the bed. "And what other way _could_ you have expected him to react after _what you did_? Do you know what this going to do to the company? What it has done to your _mother_?" He snapped as the mask he had so carefully held together crumbled away, unable to impose his will over his emotions any more. The image of Linda's shocked and anguished despair when the family was given the news haunted her husband still. She couldn't believe her child could be capable of such an act. "You... _forced_ yourself onto a woman half your size!" He couldn't bring himself to say the actual word, almost like giving it voice would release some evil, fearsome creature from another world.

The anger and accusing glare held Shane where he lay; so it was out. _Of course it would be_, he thought, there would have been no other way for it to end. As the beating at Bennett's hands came back to him so to had the drunken actions that demanded that the Englishman answer with such a brutal reprisal.

"You'd best think about getting a lawyer." Vince growled as he regained his composure once more and made to leave, "But you better not expect any help from the family, not after this."

"Dad, please-."

"_Enough!_" Vince roared as he whirled around, "Don't even think of trying to make petty excuses for your actions, boy, I don't want to hear any of them. You've gotten far bigger problems to worry about now." With that he wrenched open the door and stalked out, slamming it behind with an air of finality.

* * *

><p>The water lapped over Imogen's feet and washed away the tracks both she and Hercules left as they ambled up the deserted stretch of beach so early in the morning, the sky grey with the encroaching dawn. Her knee was winning its battle and healing, the overall additional damage not as bad as first thought- though the extra bruising had made itself known for a while. Her mind however... well, that was going to take far more than pain medication and a bit of physiotherapy. She had started to become aloof and isolated, coupled with sudden abrupt mood swings. To top it off she hadn't been sleeping well, and the little she did manage was broken and fitful. She had actually been up for hours before deciding to take the dog for an early morning walk across the sand. Focusing on the steady rhythm of the swell breaking she tried to think of nothing at all and feel even less, to put as much mental distance and isolate what had happened as she could. It was not to be however when a figure became visible from behind a dune.<p>

Stu stood silently, watching her as she suddenly stopped at the sight of another's presence on her strip of sand. He had to fight the overwhelming urge to simply charge up the beach and instead let her approach him at her own pace, the wary stance in her body language not going unnoticed. Herc on the other hand hand no problem bounding up to the familiar face, happy to share his walk with another of his human pack. Ever since she had gotten back to Tampa she had stayed with her parents, Rosa not giving anyone else room to argue about the choice of her daughter's living arrangements had someone objected to it any way.

When Imogen finally stood only a few feet away she stopped, the air around them feeling heavy and awkward. The black eye had all but faded away, the off yellow taint the only evidence of it with a light long sleeved sweat shirt and three quarter length khakis covered the rest. He reached out to touch her, unable to hide the obvious hurt when she shied away from his hand out of an instinctive reaction. He hadn't known what to expect but a part of him just assumed, or perhaps hoped, that the fallout may have spared what the two of them had with each other. He was learning that this was going to be more painful and confusing for both of them than he would've ever guessed at. He swallowed hard and slowly pulled his hand back.

The look of shock and rage that had possessed him the morning after Summerslam was still vivid in Imogen's mind, she had never realised that he would be capable of the level of violence like the retribution he had handed out to Shane. In truth she had never wanted anyone to see her like that when she had been at the most vulnerable state she had ever been in her life, let alone Stu. It felt humiliating, embarrassing and added to the already huge feeling of irrational shame. Something had been lost that day, something she knew she would never get back, but as she looked up at the man in front of her on some level she understood that there was now the potential of losing him to. The same system of justice that was working to go after McMahon was now threatening to take the Englishman, _her _Englishman, away. Despite his reasons the law was clear; absolutely no-one was above it. At first the punishment of incarceration flashed though her mind, followed by something even worse.

Deportation.

Stu was caught by surprise when Imogen suddenly went from not wanting any contact to a desperate embrace, his arms slowly folded around her as he felt the first of the silent tears seep through the cotton of his shirt. It had been eating him up inside that the last time they had spoken it was an argument, piling onto his own sizable helping of guilt. Coming home every day to an empty house just seemed to compound his own turmoil.

They simply stood there holding one another for long minutes before the silence was finally broken by the woman in his arms. "Stu," Imogen said quietly as she looked up at him, "I want to go home."


	19. Chapter 19

_Huzzah for updates!_

_Thinking that there's perhaps two, maybe three chapter at most left until this story reaches its conclusion. What will happen is anyone's guess, hell even I haven't quite decided yet!_

_With that said and done enjoy the latest offering. Peace!_

* * *

><p>The music was so loud Phil could hear it before he had even gotten out of the cab as he paid the driver and climbed out. After finally heeding Paul's advice and taking a bit of time off after almost seriously injuring Cody, he decided to come down to Tampa instead of heading back to his beloved Chicago. The little to no communication between himself and Imogen was driving him nuts and he had to know exactly how well she was holding up. If the volume of the VNV Nation album <em>Empires<em> was anything to go by he made a mental note to brace for any irrational outburst that might end up levelled at him. Taking a breath he knocked, hard, wondering if he'd even be heard over the noise.

It wasn't until he pounded on the door with a closed fist did he get an answer and Imogen's tired, worn out appearance shocking him when the door finally opened. Mentally scrambling to hide his surprise Phil put on a slight smile, "Hey, stranger. Thought I'd come down and see how you were holding up." He said as he fought to be heard over the music.

Standing to one side Imogen waved Punk in and locked the door behind him, something in previous days she wouldn't have bothered with, he noted. "I'll survive."

Putting his bag to one side as they passed the living room and headed into the kitchen, Imogen pointing the remote she had in hand and turned the stereo down along the way. Outside the Florida sun was scorching, inside it was almost as if he was in one big walk in fridge. Filling the kettle with water she waved a mug in his direction and he nodded, watching as she busied herself with tea and sugar. When she was done Imogen passed a cup across the island counter to him. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, Phil's outer appearance of a calm demeanour belying the hawk like attention he paid to the woman next to him, also noting the absence of a certain Englishman. "Where's Stu?" He asked casually.

"I have no idea. We fought and he left to blow off steam for a while, I assume." She answered with a heavy sigh, hands soaking up the warmth of the porcelain. "With all that's going on... I pick fights with him and I have no clue why." Once more the silence descended and again Phil wasn't going to force anything, if she wanted to elaborate on it she would. "I feel so stupid." Imogen said suddenly, the statement earning her a look of surprise from her guest, "I should've seen something like this coming, should never have taken the damn contract in the first place. Should've never-"

"Hey, don't start that." He softly but firmly cut her off from the self blame game before she could really get started, gently prying the empty cup from her now shaking hands. "Cal... _none_ of this is your fault, you hear me? Not _one solitary inch_ of it. The _**only**_ one to blame here is that controlling, power hungry asshole." A little hesitant at first his thumb brushed over her own and when no objection was forth coming his tattooed hand slowly closed reassuringly over her ink free one and gave it a light squeeze. Phil found himself thinking about what Paul had said and just how right he was. As much as he wanted to going after Shane wouldn't help anyone, no matter how much the ass deserved it. "While I don't entirely understand what's going on in that head of yours, I'm here for you, Cal, always will be. Whenever you want to talk I'm ready to listen, day or night."

She forced the rising emotion back into its mental box, among other things she was tired of herself being so uncontrollably moody all the time. If there was one thing Imogen had prided herself on it was the ability to control her feelings. Taking a shaky breath her free hand lightly brushed her eyes, only just realising she had started to cry. Again. She was sick of that to... She was sick of, well, everything. "Phil... I've been thinking a lot, about everything, and I need to know... Whatever I decide to do you're not going to fight me on it, are you?"

His brow cocked at the use of his real name. It was rare when they would actually call each other by anything other than the nick names they had for each other, so he knew whatever she had to say next was dead serious. "Whatever you need, Imogen, just name it."

* * *

><p>Phil stayed in Tampa for a few days, opting to take the offer of hospitality from Imogen's parents to use their guest room, helping her to slowly crawl out of the well guarded shell she had constructed for herself. The morning after his initial arrival he had showed up on a bike, insisting that they needed to do something. What better way to keep the mind focused that with an early morning ride following the local coast line for a few miles? When they returned he and Stu had their own discussion while Imogen showered before they all had breakfast. He had to admit, the atmosphere felt a little awkward and he didn't know if he was helping or hindering the process.<p>

He never bought up the subject of Stu and the obvious difficulties the pair was facing during their rides. Whether or not they would survive as a couple was still unknown, but he knew that as much as he personally approved of the beating that Stu had handed out to Shane, he could now see that was the entirely wrong reaction to follow. He had been doing a little research here and there to see how he could avoid doing the wrong thing in handling the entire situation and from what he had learned that to have one violent action following another would've been a little to much to handle. Violent reactions from a man had now become a distinct trust issue for her and the one thing he wanted more than anything right now was to show that that trust was the biggest thing she could count on from him.

After the fourth day he couldn't delay his stay from in ring competition much longer, so with reluctance he left that evening so he could get back to Chicago for a day or two then head back on the road with the rest of Smackdown. With one last good bye he looked back just as he walked through the gate to board his flight and noticed the small smile that finally reached his friend's eyes for the first time and couldn't help but grin to himself. Things were still going to be rough as hell but some how, some way, he knew she'd pull through one way or the other.

Punk's visit was not the last to show up in Tampa that week as a black BMW pulled to a stop in front of the beach front property. the head of the McMahon family looked up the drive-way and then to his wife. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Not entirely." Linda admitted, reaching over and patted the back of her husband's hand. "But we've come this far, dear, so we can't back out now."

Vince nodded and opened the door as Linda followed suit. The walk up the path was one of the hardest he had ever done in his life, hesitating a moment before finally knocking on the door. When it was answered Vince stiffened, he wasn't sure he was entirely ready for this conversation. "Please, Miss Campbell, we would like to talk."

Imogen eyed the two new guests for a second before she stood aside so they could come in then closed the door. Looking back at her visitors as a heavy, awkward silence descended, one hand absently rubbed at the back of her neck anxiously, not quite knowing what to do next nor what to say. "Maybe we should go and sit down?" Linda suggested softly.

The young woman nodded and with a wave of her hand led them through the house and onto the back patio, the Tampa afternoon heat diluted by the fresh breeze coming off the ocean. Stu appeared and gave Imogen a curious glance to which she simply answered with a shrug. This was one visit neither of them had been expecting. Taking a seat on one side of the outdoor setting Vince and Linda opted for the opposite so the two couples were facing each other. "Miss Campbell-."

"Please, don't call me 'Miss Campbell', I'm so sick of professional bullshit formalities." Imogen interrupted. Every time the cops or her lawyer or... someone who was involved in the case would call her that and she was so tired of hearing it. "Why are you here?"

Linda looked between the young woman opposite them and her husband, who was having even more difficulty with this than even he had thought he would. After the initial shock both of them had sat down in Connecticut and had a very long, unenviable talk. Vince had disowned his own son and wanted nothing more to do with him while Linda was still working through her own emotions. She couldn't understand how her once sweet little boy had grown into an individual whole could do such a thing. Had she and Vince gone wrong somewhere along the way as parents? Had _she_ failed somewhere as a mother? So many hard questions that she was left with and had little to no answers for any of them. "Imogen. I can't even begin to imagine how hard all of this must be from your side." She began, "But we feel it's important to let you know that however this plays out we want to support you."

The unreadable, almost stoic expression she had put in place by the time they had sat down cracked as she blinked in surprise. This was not something she had been expecting; though, to be perfectly honest with herself, she had no idea what to have expected from the rest of the McMahon clan. Maybe for blood to overrule reason, or something along similar lines. Certainly not this at any rate. "What do you mean exactly?"

"My so- Shane's actions are beyond reprehensible." Vince replied, "As far as I'm concerned the boy is on his own, I want nothing more to do with him." His voice twisting with the inescapable disgust that welled inside him over the matter in that familiar growl that was like a Vince trademark. Taking a breath to calm himself he continued on. "No matter what happens with the trial, or if it gets into the media or anything else, we'll do all we can for you. I think, under the circumstances, it's the least we can offer."

The young wrestler watched the older couple, she had become more aware of people and their mannerisms ever since she had left the hospital. Vince was clearly agitated, clenching his fists that rested on the frosted glass over and over in an effort to retain control of himself. Linda was more reserved out of them, her hands resting in her lap and looking a little uncomfortable. Both however sported the same emotions in their eyes, they were just as upset and hurt as her own parents, perhaps in a way even more so because it had been their son that caused it all.

But the thought of even working for anyone named McMahon was to much of a raw wound, whether or not it would ever heal was something left to the winds of time. So with a decisive breath Imogen told them exactly what she wanted and, more importantly, what she _needed_. "I need you to let me out of my contract."

Vince refrained from sighing, he had somewhat expected this to be the likely outcome. Anticipating it as such he already had all the necessary paperwork drawn up just in case. "Very well." He said, "Do you have any... preferences on the explanation on your release?"

She knew what he was hinting at, and the last thing she wanted was for the truth blasted out for general public knowledge. More than enough people knew already. "I don't care. Injury, wellness policy violation... it's whatever."

He slowly nodded in acceptance, accepting the peace offering to allow the company to save some face. He knew they'd get the usual heat by some for ending the contract but it was nothing he hadn't handled in the past. "Very well, but know that the door will always be open for you to come back, should you choose to."

"Thank you." Imogen replied, the olive branch of the genuine offer was touching, though she doubted she'd ever accept it. The rest of the conversation was strained, so it wasn't long before the McMahon's made their exit with Stu showing them out. He came back to find Imogen staring blankly out at the churning surf and wondered what she was thinking. He had known the request to nullify the contract was coming so the obvious question was what happens now. Taking his seat next to her again his fingers intertwined with hers as they shared the view without a word passed between them, each lost in their own thoughts for the coming days.


	20. Chapter 20

_I love it when a chapter just flows from one idea to the next... makes writing it that much more enjoyable._

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><p>When the trial proper has begun Imogen had found the entire experience harrowing. Shane was taking his chances by pleading not guilty and as such had the right to face his accuser in a court of law. To add insult to injury he had also managed to get a restraining order put against Stu, so the Englishman was unable to even walk through the door with her that morning. The District Attorney, a silver haired man named Adam Reeves, had taken her through the court when it was empty to explain who'd be sitting where and what she could expect in an attempt to ease some of the jumbling mess of nerves. While she now knew a measure of what to expect, in truth it didn't really help combat the feelings of dread that assaulted Imogen while she waited now.<p>

She sat outside the courtroom with her father quietly by her side, his large and calloused hand closed over hers when her frame began to shake as the time to sit on the witness stand drew closer and closer. Imogen's eyes locked wither her father's and he simply stared into her face for a moment, thinking that despite having his eyes she looked so much like her mother. No words were spoken as he simply pulled her closer into a protective hug, placing a light kiss on the top of her forehead as he did so.

A sound of someone clearing their throat caught the attention of father and daughter, James' potential protective scowl retreating as the sight of both Scott and Phil standing in suits greeted him. As they stood up from the bench he grunted in gruff approval, "You clean up well, Brooks." Was all he said in greeting to which the younger man simply grinned a little, "Nice to see you to, Scott."

"You don't look so bad yourself, old man." He replied as handshakes were exchanged. The back and forth banter had been their way since he had first met 'The Enforcer' many years a go and had been a constant ever since.

Knowing he could leave Imogen in the company of her two best friends he excused himself, citing a trip to get Rosa and would be back in a few minutes. When he was out of ear shot she looked between the duo from Chicago, hands twisting her fingers anxiously, "I... I don't know if I can do this." She finally admitted, looking from one to the other, "Just the thought of going in there makes me feel nauseous."

Scott was the first one to step forward, an arm resting over her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly, "You can do this, Cal. Punk and I will be right there in the front row right next to your folks."

Phil just stood back for a moment as Scott continued along his vein of encouragement. He knew it wasn't just the blatant fact that it would be the first time since the night of Summer Slam Imogen and Shane would be face to face that was more than daunting. While he loved his country and was damn proud to be an American, he couldn't deny that the logic in some of his fellow countrymen could be so ass backwards in this day and age was mind boggling. All it could take for this whole case to swing McMahon's way was just one juror hanging onto any of the stone age beliefs on rape. He suppressed the urge to shudder as the idea nestled in the back of his mind like an uncomfortable weight.

He took in her well manicured appearance of a black pinstripe pencil skirt that fell just below the knee with matching jacket over a grey blouse and her long hair tied up out of the way in a braided bun. He was hopeful that with the modest and professional image would deter any and all primitive 'she asked for it' thoughts that might even consider entering any of the twelve jurors heads. But whatever the outcome he and Scott knew what was happening next regardless if McMahon walked or not. Whether or not she had enlightened anyone else he had no idea. "You ready for tonight?" He asked quietly as the two hugged, the random nervous tremors running through her not going unnoticed.

"As I'll ever be." Imogen replied. The decision she had made scared her a little, but the thought of not doing anything came off as even more daunting. For good or for ill it was something she felt she needed to do.

"Well when you're ready to make the call we'll be waiting." Scott added just as they caught sight of the returning Campbell patriarch with Rosa by his side.

It wasn't long after that Imogen was finally called to the stand. With a deep breath she took strength in the last of the brief encouraging grip Phil had on her hand before following the bailiff. After a quick moment's hesitation she climbed up the small flight of stairs. Once settled the sight of an almost full courtroom greeted her. At the back of the room was the visitors gallery; her parents, Scott and Phil sitting on her left side of the room while Vince and Linda sat somewhere in the middle on the right side. No matter the outcome the heads of the McMahon clan were determined to see this through to the end. A dozen pairs of eyes of the jurors watched her every move, the judge in his black robes with gavel in hand and past him the clerk was rapidly typing down the events. In front of her was the District Attorney and to the left of him was the accused himself sitting with his ridiculously expensive lawyers, Shane McMahon looking every bit the clean cut and immaculate businessman. Quickly she diverted her eyes to any where but that side of the courtroom, her unseen fists clenching as she will not to let her fear show.

Raising her right hand as instructed by the bailiff he swore her in. "Do you solemnly state under penalty of perjury, that the evidence that you shall give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

And so it began, the DA the first to get the ball rolling, his questions clear, to the point and giving her equal time to compose her answers. When he was done he sat back down, round two with Shane's high priced lawyer was about to begin. His questions were hard and fast, trying to slip her up and twist her words where he could. The rapid fire questioning set to throw her off balance between Reeves' objections before Phil had to 'clear his throat' loud enough to earn him a stern and disapproving look from the judge for interrupting the proceedings but not enough to get himself removed. Imogen knew what he was doing, making her attention come to rest on himself and Scott as she attempted to answer the loaded questions the defence shot at her before the lawyer finally had no more questions. When there was no further questions for the cross examination Imogen was finally allowed to leave the witness box, grateful to take her seat next to the prosecution.

The witness that Adam called next though had the three professional wrestlers present in varying levels of surprise, "I'd now like to call Barbie Blank to the stand."

The young blond stepped into the box with an air of determination, looking every bit as professional and clean cut in her white dress and matching modest heels as her former on-screen rival. Barbie had to admit that it felt daunting being up here but in the end she was doing the right thing. She had the belief in herself and Paul Wight's ever dependable support to boot, who despite his size had managed to sneak in the back undetected by the others.

Again the DA set things up the best way he could in their favour, Barbie coming off strong in her conviction when she answered. When he was done the tables were once again turned as Shane's lawyer took to the proverbial stage. He tried everything to tear Blank down and discredit her; bringing up the unpleasant truth that Barbie had allowed herself to trade sexual favours for the promise of the belt and this was merely an attempt to get back at her boss for making her drop the title once she had been 'replaced' by someone new.

Anger flared inside Barbie as the layer continued to cut her off when she tried to explain and finally attempted to turn the tables by interrupting his interruption. Raising her voice she spoke over him when he attempted the tactic one time to many, forcing him to be quiet as she voiced the thoughts that had for so long wanted freedom. "Yes, I did I sleep with Shane to elevate my own standing in the company. _**But**_-." she emphasised as he tried to again to cut her off and twist her words, "Would I change the decision if I could? Damn straight I would. I've learned a lot of things the hard way over the past few months, but I can tell you this without a shadow of a doubt. There is _no chance in hell_ that Imogen Campbell would have willingly submitted to Shane McMahon. The fact of the matter is that for whatever reason he decided to hire her in the first place there is no way she would have given herself to him."

The entire courtroom was forced into stunned silence for a moment from the complete certitude the the former champion's words, Paul smiling with approval as he briefly caught Barbie's eye from his seat in the back row. The defence attorney reclaimed what little composure he had left after taking in the look of the jurors, citing he had no more questions. For Barbie though, the completely shocked look that was plastered on Imogen's face was priceless. In the proverbial wrestling match of life she could safely say to herself that this was indeed a memorable moment as well as a victory. From this moment on they were no longer rivals, but equals as the shock on Imogen's face morphed into overwhelming appreciation from the unveiled support in a corner she wouldn't have expected from in a million years. In that moment a unspoken bond was formed between the two women, each had given the other something of immeasurable value in their lives.

With all the evidence and witnesses presented the jury was sent away to make their verdict and the session called into recess. Reeves looked over at the young woman by his side, hands gripped so tightly together that her knuckles had turned white and manicured nails were leaving crescent marks in her skin as her elbows rested on the table with her eyes closed. Cases of sexual assault were the hardest ones to deal with he had found. Having to watch a living, breathing victim of such a crime undergo the drama of a trial was hard to watch. All things considered though, in his experience Imogen was holding up well, she was stronger about it than she was giving herself credit for.

"How long are they going to be?" She asked him quietly as her eyes opened to stare at the space in front of her, "I feel like the waiting is going to make me sick."

"I wish I could tell you, Imogen." He replied as he poured a small glass of water from the pitcher that sat on the table and passed it over, "Just hang in there a little longer, you're doing great."

Great? It probably wasn't the word she would have used, but somewhere in the back of her mind she had to trust that the veteran prosecutor knew what he was talking about, a case like this was far from his first rodeo.

It wasn't long before the jurors had come to a decision and were ready to pass judgement. As the bailiff gave the instruction for everyone to 'all rise' they filed back into the jurors box, the woman who had been nominated by her peers as their voice at the ready. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"

"Yes, your Honour." She replied, presenting the bailiff with a piece of paper who passed it to the clerk who then handed it to the judge. "In the case of the State versus Shane McMahon on one count of sexual assault in the third degree, we the jury find the defendant guilty."

The rest of the jurors words became background noise as the ever growing knot of anxiety, fear and a whole host of other emotions disintegrated and slowly dissolved in the flood of relief. She had won... _They_ had won, for it was truly a team effort with the amount of support she had received from all corners. For the final time her eyes locked with that of Shane's as he was cuffed and led out of the room, his defeat clearly written all around him. As Rosa embraced her little girl Imogen couldn't help but steal a look over her mother's shoulder at Vince and Linda. She had never seen two people so laden with grief and hurt that despite what their son had done she couldn't help but feel as if they were also victims, and a small part of her heart when out to what they must now face.

Managing to untangle herself from her overwhelmingly relieved mother Imogen broke away from the small group to confront Barbie, who had retreated to the back of the room to wait it out with Paul. "Barbie.. I..." Try as she might, Imogen just couldn't find the words that were adequate enough to express the feelings for what the blond had done today.

Barbie watched as the brunette struggled for something to say before bringing it to a halt. "You still owe me that match, Campbell. Not today, maybe not for a while. But when it finally does come I want you at your best."

The stammering came to a halt as the two Divas looked at one another, Barbie offering a small smile which Imogen couldn't help but return. Slowly she extended her hand and the two women shook on it. "Name the time and place, Blank. I'll be there."

She watched as Barbie and Paul took their leave, noting the the subtle action of Blank's delicate hand disappearing into huge palm of the giant beside her. Her concentration was broken by her two Chicago boys appeared either side of her, both with huge triumphant grins on their faces. "Lets get the hell out of here and have a little celebration." Phil said, "Your old man has your mum distracted so we can get out of here. He figures you could use the time without the constant blur of Spanish in your ear as she hovers over you like an over protective mother hen."

Imogen shook her head, her father would forever be the man that knew his little girl best. "Lead on, my good man."

The trio sneaked out the back of the building, climbing into the waiting rental car with Scott behind the wheel as Phil called shotgun. In the middle of the back seat Imogen pulled out the pins that held her hair up, the braid falling down over her shoulder and closed her eyes as the sunlight poured through the back window. She had no idea what the future now held, but whatever it was she'd take it one step at a time and see where the road would lead.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Epilogue**_.

* * *

><p><em>Stu.<br>_

_God, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do... But I feel I have to do it._

_First I need you to know that I love you since the weekend we met down in Clearwater, and I realise that this is entirely unfair to you. Please know that I wouldn't change anything about the five years we've shared, even the fights and long nights alone that were broken by blissful reunions... there's not a damn thing I'd change out of all of it. I love you, but I find that I am no longer in love with you. For that I am sorry, but with everything that has happened over the recent months I have been forced to admit that I can't do this any more._

_With everything that has happened – the initial bad start with Barbie, the constant rumours concerning Phil and myself, and of course Shane and everything... attached to that- I find I'm in need of space, more-so than anyone here is willing to give me. This is why I'm leaving, to figure out just who and what I need to become to move forward as a person and where my life will go from there. While I have some confidence in the measures taken to conceal my identity during this whole harrowing ordeal as I have no doubt that the media will be like a feeding frenzy over McMahon's conviction, I don't entirely trust it to stay that way. So for my own peace of mind I'm leaving the country all together. Somewhere where wrestling isn't a huge spectacle like it is here and I can simply blend in without anyone recognising who I am._

_I feel like such a selfish coward for ending it this way and you have every right to be angry with me for it, I accept that. I hope that someday you will find it within yourself to forgive me for this and find that certain someone that will make you as truly happy as you deserve to be._

Stu couldn't bring himself to reread the rest of the crumpled note in his hand as he sat on the back porch with an open bottle of Jack Daniels of an all to quiet house as the chilled evening breeze coming off the ocean made him shiver. Closing his eyes he felt the anger welling up inside, making his chest hurt and felt like he was going to choke on it. After absolutely everything else this was just to much. With the trial being held out of town coupled with the restraining order Shane had as well as the sentencing for his own charges against him it had been easy for Imogen to pack her things and disappear. Not even James' complete and utter irate tirade at Phil and Scott had been enough for either man to give up the location of where she had gone, partly because they didn't know the final destination themselves. It was what Phil had promised, this was her decision and he wasn't going to fight her on it. It had taken all he had not to punch out the scruffy Chicagoite right there.

In light of everything Vince had offered him a renewal on his contract when his own slap on the wrist verdict had been handed down – an allotted time doing community service while also attending anger management classes until approval from the overseeing doctor said otherwise. The Chairman, already having lost his now disowned son and one of his employees, didn't feel like losing a third from the whole spectacle. He had taken it, if nothing more than to keep himself busy enough to keep his mind thoroughly distracted once he got back out on the road, his only stipulation being not to work with Phil for as long as possible.

Retreating back inside from the cold air he abandoned the alcohol on the kitchen table along the way to the gas stove top, igniting one of the burners he held the paper over the blue flame and watched as it greedily ate away at it. He had tried his best but it hadn't been enough, instead she had turned and ran from everyone. He had tried to be open and understanding, realised that as much as he would gleefully do it again that beating the absolute crap out of McMahon was the wrong impulse to follow. But no matter what he had done Imogen had slowly began to withdraw from him the moment she had gotten home, only to turn around and pour everything out to that prick from Chicago. He was angry and confused; at himself, at Punk for hiding what Stu felt he should've been told and even at Imogen.

As the ash crumbled away in his hand he again retrieved the bourbon and wandered down the hall to fall into a heap on the couch. Taking a mouthful he relished in the slow burn as it snaked its way down his throat and into his stomach. He knew he'd pay for it in the morning but right now he just didn't care, figuring right now it was worth the trade off. Flicking the TV on and finding an old repeat of a rugby game he leaned back into the soft embrace of the couch cushions, absently knocking over a digital photo frame that had been perched on one of the end tables. He concluded that Rosa must have missed it on her sweep to get whatever her daughter had left behind, Stu not wanting to have any reminders left. He didn't turn it on, he knew damn well what was on it, so with his lip curling it flew across the room with a quick flick of his wrist and hit the wall.

He was done.

* * *

><p><em><span>Chicago, Illinois. Eighteen months later.<span>_

Punk was doing one final check of his luggage before hitting the road once again, making sure he wasn't missing anything for when he caught his flight tomorrow morning. Answering the intercom to his apartment when it buzzed a few minutes later Scott was at his door. "Hey man, you almost done?" He asked after their initial greeting, "I ordered the pizza before I got here, so it shouldn't be long before it gets here."

"Just about." He replied as Scott handed him his mail that he had grabbed on the way up. Flicking through the usual mix of bills and assorted junk mail he stopped when familiar handwriting caught his eye. Casually casting aside the rest on a nearby table he joined Cabana who had made himself at home on one end of the couch, flicking through random stations until finding something worthwhile. Turning it over he couldn't find a return address, but the air mail, postal markings and stamps claimed it had come all the way from Japan. Tearing it open his eyes skimmed the unfolded sheet with a few photos that accompanied it sat on the arm of the couch, a slow smile coming to his face as he read before handing it over to Colt when he was done.

_Punkster,_

_Greetings from Tokyo! I've been here in Japan a few months now and things are going well. My Japanese is even passably fluent now! Or at least the locals appreciate the effort I'm putting into learning it anyway, it's nice to surprise people by not living up to the 'clueless American tourist' stereotype. Last week I finally went and hiked Mount Fuji during a night trek for something called Goraikō which means 'honourable arrival of light'. I have to say as far as sunrises go, it's going to be a hard one to beat. After that I spent the weekend exploring Aokigahara. The quiet of the forest is a little unsettling at first, but I found I rather enjoyed it after a while. Though with the reputation that the 'Sea of Trees' has for suicide, I'm damn glad I didn't run into some poor bastard's body._

_Something surprising happened the other day as well. I was over in Shibuya doing some window shopping and general nosing around when someone came up to me, he actually recognised who I was. Here's the kicker though, he works for Dragon Gate Wrestling and invited me to call by their offices. Long story short is I'm back in the wrestling business again, though I haven't decided if I want to compete yet. At least it's a step forward at any rate._

_Speaking of moving forward, I'm still upholding what you had me promise when I told you I was leaving. The therapy is helping a lot more than I thought it would to be perfectly honest. There are days that worse than others, but they are slowly becoming less frequent than they used to be. As much as the progress is so far, some part of me just isn't ready to head back home just yet. Besides, there's a lot to see and things to do! I'm pretty sure all the pics I sent you while over in Europe told you that._

_Well that's about it for now, early start in the morning and I get to have fun feeling like a sardine during the morning work rush on the train tomorrow. Can't wait to see how your WWE title match against John goes, I know you two are gonna tear it up!_

_Cal._

_PS- Hi Cabana Boy, I knowyou're reading this to!_

Scott handed the letter back as Phil looked at the snap she had taken of the sunrise Imogen had written of. While he himself wasn't much into the old school letter writing, preferring to stick to emails and such, he was glad that she was just that little bit retro. As the intercom buzzed announcing the arrival of their pizza Scott went to answer it while he took the latest letter and put it in a box with the others. He had to admit, the random snail mail was a nice break from getting bills and the recent editions of photos over the past few months made it even better.

Truth be told he hadn't liked the idea of her simply taking off to parts unknown in a foreign land, it seemed like a bad idea. But as much as he wanted to voice his objection that day he didn't, it had been a test of trust and he had passed. All he did was plead that wherever Imogen went she wouldn't take on the burden alone and seek professional help. At first he wasn't entirely sure that she would actually listen and simply agree as some form of lip service. But to his surprise about a month or so after reaching Sweden, Punk had received the first in what would be regular letters as she began to slowly travel around. At first he thought the travel was more about her keeping on the run, and maybe a part of it still was, but with each piece of correspondence that arrived he could see embers of confidence trying to reignite in the elegant and meticulous handwriting.

Things at home had been rocky in her absence, James had been more than irate and Rosa had gone beyond worried. His steadfast commitment to his promise came very close to ruining the relationship with them both before he had gotten the idea to show them the first letter, then they to had started receiving their own shortly after that. While still tenuous he had managed to keep the relationship with her parents intact.

Work had been a different story, at one point he had seriously considered ending his contract with the company. He had been surprised when one night during a rare call Imogen had actually talked him out of it, telling him what she had said to Levesque- You can't blame an entire company for the actions of one person. When Stu had finally returned he had once more been placed back on Smackdown since during his absence Punk had been transferred to Raw. The only time the two men even saw each other was at Pay Per Views and even then they made a point to stay out of each other's way whenever possible. As far as Stu had been concerned he wanted nothing more to do with either of them. Phil merely accepted this as the now running standard and wasn't inclined to do anything about it. Phil had made his choice of keeping his promises and nothing anyone could say, react or do would ever make him think to regret it.

He made his way back into the lounge where Colt was already helping himself to a hot slice from the box resting on the coffee table and grabbed one for himself. The two best friends talked, their conversation a laid back and free flowing rapport as all good friends have, each wondering just what the absent third of their number would do in her new mystery role at Dragon Gate.

* * *

><p><em><span>Mexico City, Mexico.<span>_

The crowd packed into the arena roared as the masked luchadora Nova stood with the championship belt held high much to the delight of the masses after a thirty five minute match for the coveted AAA strap. When she made her way back stage and headed towards the locker room various words of congratulations and a few handshakes were passed long from her fellows. After showering dressing there was a knock on the door, quickly she scrambled for something to cover her identity as her mask was already packed in her bag, the closest thing being a towel. Wrapping it around enough for it to obscure her face Nova finally answered.

It was a big name talent scout for the WWE with one of the promoters, who was also playing a roll as a translator. The promoter explained to the man that Nova had, up until six months a go, been a part of Japan's Dragon Gate promotion.

Jim Ross was in all honesty only half listening to the man beside him, there was something about the champion that was familiar to him but he couldn't quite place it. It was something about her eyes and the small scar above her right eye tickled his memory but refused to give him the answer he sought. Shifting uncomfortably under the former commentator's gaze the luchadora pulled the thick dark cotton down some more, bring the small part of her exposed face into shadow. Keeping one's identity secret was a big thing amongst the masked Mexican wrestlers, Nova being no different. In fact she seemed even more intent than most about no-one seeing her face at all. It was a little strange in a Gringo the promoter first thought, along with her refusal to speak in her native English to any potential scouts, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't matter much. If Nova didn't want to speak English and therefore make it harder for the competition to steal his workers away, he wasn't going to complain about it.

But tonight something was different as the conversation continued, until she finally turned to him and politely asked for a moment alone with señor Ross. He complied and when the door was closed behind him the two American's stood face to face for a moment before Nova reached up and slowly pulled away the fabric that shielded her identity.

"My god!" JR exclaimed in surprise, "It's you!"

* * *

><p><em>Holy. Crap.<em>

_I've done it. After being a member and poster on this site since 2005 I've FINALLY managed to finish a story! I deserve a parade..._

_BIG shout out once again to BearKat (AKA Harmony1111. Took me a little to work out the name change), without you this idea never would have existed in the first place and a huge part in the motivation to see it through until the end. I hope that this offering is something you in particular have enjoyed reading, because I certainly have enjoyed writing it._

_Also a big thanks to the people who favourited/alerted the fic and especially to my regular reviewers who took the time out to leave a few lines- KityKat-1, CapriSunGirl, SpiceGirl, Kennedy2006, Bethany-Q, Marrymebrandon, Lil'-AngelwWings, and the anonymous WWECenaFan._

_While this is the end of this particular tale it is not the end of the story. I knew about half way through that I would want to do a follow up, set roughly 2-3 years down the track, and have been jotting down random ideas along the way. While I can't give you guys an actual time for its posting I can give you the name- 'Battle Scars'. So in the mean time feel free to read/review whatever else I have up if you're so inclined, or even drop a line and challenge me with an idea yourself and I'll see if I can run with it!_

_Peace!_


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